"There's been a lot of inputs from Gambhir": Washington Sundar reveals India's plan to deal with SL spinners
Aug 06, 2024
Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 6 : Ahead of India's third ODI agaisnt Sri Lanka, all-rounder Washington Sundar revealed that head coach Gautam Gambhir has given a lot of inputs to deal with Sri Lanka's spin bowling attack.
Throughout the ODI series, Sri Lanka spinners have been the main root of problems for India. In the series opener that ended in a draw, Sri Lanka spinners combined to pick up nine wickets and restricted India to 230.
In the second ODI, legbreak spinner Jeffrey Vandersay weaved magic that Indian batters couldn't escape from. His six-wicket haul left India dazed, and skipper Charith Asalanka's three-fer completely knocked the visitors hope of going ahead in the series.
With India trailing 1-0 in the series, Sundar revealed that Gambhir gave the players a lot of inputs to deal with the threat that Sri Lanka spinners carry.
"There's been a lot of inputs from [Gambhir]. He's a high-quality player of spin. We've always seen him putting up great performances on such wickets, especially against quality spin bowling. That's one of the reasons we came out here today to practice, to try and find a way to do those little things tactically. We are really prepared to be on top of the game in all aspects tomorrow," Sundar said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
In the ODI series, no Indian middle order has managed to put up an aggregate of 40. India has solely relied on skipper Rohit Sharma's blitzkrieg in the opening and Axar Patel's handy contributions towards the end.
Apart from Sri Lanka spinners, India struggled to dismiss Sri Lanka's lower-order batters, especially Dunith Wellalage.
Wellalage racked up an unbeaten 67 off 65 deliveries in the first ODI and stitched a crucial stand in the second.
"We'd love to get them out for 200 or less than that. We had them in that situation in both matches. With big tournaments coming up, we'll be in similar situations, and it's an opportunity for us to find a way to get the job done in crunch situations. We just need to put our hands up and win those critical situations in the game," Washington added.
India will look to level the series in the third and final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.
