The Lankan bowling was not threatening in terms of pace but incisive enough. The Indian batting resembled a cat on hot tin roof. The catching from Sangakkara was phenomenal. The result was a one-sided win for the Lankans.
The Indian batsmen other than Gambhir, could not handle the swing and accuracy of Perera and Matthews when they batted. When it was the turn of the Lankans, there was no trace of the wind or help from the pitch to trouble the batsmen. The Lankans cantered home for the loss of Dilshan.
Gambhir showed that he was one batsmen who was good enough to handle the conditions and hold up one end till the last ball of the innings. Kohli and Dhoni had a rare off-day at the office while Rohit's slump continued. It is very surprising to see why Rohit usually fails in a full-fledged Indian outfit but sparkles with a second-string side! Is it the weight of expectations that is pulling him down? Whatever it is, Rohit cannot blame the management for lack of opportunities. Time to give Rahane an opportunity in the middle-order.
The Indian bowling then looked uninterested to continue. They had already lost the match in their mind - on the field was just a formality. Representative of this was the efforts of Zaheer Khan with the number of wides and loose balls he offered. The Indian team was ready to throw in the towel if the umpire had asked them to - such was the intensity on show.
The Indian team would do well to put this out of their mind and when they start the next match in a new location, the mindset should be new. It is now a three-match series and one should strike very soon to take early lead.
The Indian batsmen other than Gambhir, could not handle the swing and accuracy of Perera and Matthews when they batted. When it was the turn of the Lankans, there was no trace of the wind or help from the pitch to trouble the batsmen. The Lankans cantered home for the loss of Dilshan.
Gambhir showed that he was one batsmen who was good enough to handle the conditions and hold up one end till the last ball of the innings. Kohli and Dhoni had a rare off-day at the office while Rohit's slump continued. It is very surprising to see why Rohit usually fails in a full-fledged Indian outfit but sparkles with a second-string side! Is it the weight of expectations that is pulling him down? Whatever it is, Rohit cannot blame the management for lack of opportunities. Time to give Rahane an opportunity in the middle-order.
The Indian bowling then looked uninterested to continue. They had already lost the match in their mind - on the field was just a formality. Representative of this was the efforts of Zaheer Khan with the number of wides and loose balls he offered. The Indian team was ready to throw in the towel if the umpire had asked them to - such was the intensity on show.
The Indian team would do well to put this out of their mind and when they start the next match in a new location, the mindset should be new. It is now a three-match series and one should strike very soon to take early lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment