SL vs IND, ODIs: India lost 27 out of 29 wickets to Sri Lanka spinners in three-match ODI series. India batters failed to read Sri Lanka spinners.
India lost 27 out of 29 wickets to Sri Lanka spinners in the 2-0 ODI series loss recently. This is the most wickets lost to spinners in a men’s bilateral ODI series comprising four or fewer matches. Even India’s star batters, such as Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer, who are known to be good players of spin, could not decode Sri Lanka’s spinners. Except for opener Rohit Sharma, who played an aggressive brand of cricket, none of the Indian batters looked comfortable against spin. In fact, India’s middle order collapsed in all three ODIs after a good start provided by the openers led by Rohit.
Do India’s batters have a weakness against spin, as exposed by the Sri Lanka tweakers? Or is it just a one-off series where India’s batters were found on the wrong side of conditions as they batted under lights where the ball spun more with variable bounce? Or were Indian batters underprepared for this series against the top-class spin attack by Sri Lanka?
Let’s have a look at how the Indian batters fared in the series and against the Sri Lankan spinners.
India’s batters’ performance in the series:
Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
Virat Kohli | 3 | 58 | 19.3 | 84.1 |
Shreyas Iyer | 3 | 38 | 12.7 | 97.4 |
Shubman Gill | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 61.3 |
Shivam Dube | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 81.0 |
KL Rahul | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 68.9 |
Rishabh Pant | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 66.7 |
Rohit Sharma | 3 | 157 | 52.3 | 141.4 |
Washington Sundar | 3 | 50 | 16.7 | 72.5 |
Axar Patel | 3 | 79 | 26.3 | 73.1 |
Read More: SL vs IND, 3rd ODI: India batters trapped in Sri Lanka spinners' web; Hosts win series 2-0
India’s woes against SL spinners
All the Indian batters, except on two occasions, were out to spin in all three ODIs. Both Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer played the wrong line during their dismissals to spinners. Kohli was out LBW all three times. KL Rahul looked unsure about his footwork against the turning ball in the first two ODIs. Axar Patel played intelligent cricket during his knock of 44 in the second ODI but fell due to an error in judgement. The other opener, Shubman Gill, didn’t have it easy against the spinners either, although he batted in the favourable powerplay overs. All-rounder Shivam Dube did all the hard work before falling short of taking India home by just a run in the first ODI. Washington Sundar played a counter-attacking innings of 30 in the third ODI before he fell to spin like others.
Overall, it was a forgettable outing for India’s batters against Sri Lanka spinners. Due credit must be given to the varied Sri Lankan spin attack to outthink the strong batting line-up of India and make the best use of the conditions on offer.
Read More: SL vs IND, 2nd ODI, 2024: No. 7 ranked Sri Lanka better no. 1 ranked India; go 1-0 up in series
No need to press the panic button
However, there is no need to press the panic button just yet. Sri Lanka’s spinners are always lethal in home conditions. A 0-2 series loss does not make India’s batters poor players of spin. A lot of other reasons could be attributed to India’s lack of show in the ODI series.
Long break
First, middle-order batters Kohli, Iyer, and Rahul were back to international cricket after a break. Kohli was playing his first match for India after the historic 2024 World T20 win, while both Iyer and Rahul last played a competitive match in the IPL 2024. Hence, they looked a bit rusty playing quality spin in conditions best suited to Sri Lanka’s spinners.
ODIs after a pause
Also, the India players were back to playing ODIs after some time. They last played ODIs in December 2023, when they defeated South Africa 2-1 away. Hence, a seven-month gap showed up in their ODI performances, or lack thereof. India were also caught unaware by the strong Sri Lanka spinners’ show, and their lack of planning for the ODI series showed in their performances.
A wakeup call
Nevertheless, this loss would help India learn a few tough lessons as they prepare for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Gautam Gambhir and co. would have a few more ODIs to get it right and get the squad in place. Also, it would serve as a wakeup call for India batters to fine-tune their skills further in spin-friendly conditions as their 2025 Champions Trophy matches might be shifted to Sri Lanka instead of being played in Pakistan.
I feel along with bad technique to play spin, we also experimented too much in middle order. I mean they should have backed Iyyer and Rahul at no. 4 & 5 respectively..