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Series on the line as ailing Sri Lanka prepare to face mighty India again
Tuesday, 20 July 2021 - 14:36 | Views - 533

Sri Lanka have lost all but one of their nine completed ODIs this year

Less than 48 hours after India put the finishing touches on their thumping of Sri Lanka in the first ODI, the teams have to go again. If you're a Sri Lanka fan, hold on tight. This might not be pretty.

In many senses, we didn't really learn much from the first match. It was already known that Sri Lanka lack world-class batters. Although the likes of Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa struck attractive boundaries, there was no one to hold the innings together. But for No. 8 Chamika Karunaratne's unbeaten 43 off 35 balls, Sri Lanka may have stumbled to a truly sub-par total.

There was also no surprise in Shikhar Dhawan - a modern ODI behemoth - ending up the game's top scorer. And India's staggering batting depth was suspected too; their top order expected to flex against a Sri Lanka attack that has some talent but is woefully light on experience and direction. Still, the breathtaking confidence and striking ability of Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, and later, Suryakumar Yadav would have quickened pulses around the world. On its own, this young top order is a reason to tune in.

If Sri Lanka want to push India on Tuesday, there are a giant list of things they must correct. Their inability to rotate the strike against the spinners held them back during the middle overs, as batters played laboured block-or-bash innings; their fielding was poor, with two chances going down on the boundary; and while Dushmantha Chameera was good again with the new ball, they need to find a more reliable seam-bowling partner than Isuru Udana, who was taken apart in the powerplay and bowled only two overs.

 

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