More follies of Indian team came to the fore as the first one day international of the 2024 series which was held on August 4 was ended up in a Tie against Sri Lankan team. It was a pin prick of a reminder of India’s recent plight and especially the team will be eager to forget this match as they prepare for the next.
A Wake-Up Call
The Indian team was rather lackluster in its performance to the least of everyone’s expectation. The Indian batsmen seemed to find it hard to deal with Sri Lankan bowling and the fast and uneven wickets and things turned even worse for India when their opener Shubhman Gill was dismissed rather early. Virat Kohli seriously failed to get on the best of his game which he is known for and Washington Sundar remained without a contribution. The middle order also did not come up to the mark and were bundled out cheaply.
Sri Lanka’s Clinical Performance
Sri Lanka on the other hand was professional to the T. Their bowlers bowled very well, Charith Asalanka taking three and wickets and Wanindu Hasaranga also taking three wickets. The Sri Lankan batsmen also came good with Pathum Nissanka scoring half a century and Dunith Wellalage also getting to a fifty. Some catches were also registered by the visitors’ fielding to affect dismissals of the Indian batsmen.
Key Players
Since most of these players have not had consistent opportunities, the series will be important to several of them. Rohit Sharma will be eager to get back amongst runs, whereas, the skipper Virat Kohli will be eager to make it a third consecutive half-century stand. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav would further want to shine the willow to give it their best shot.
The just-concluded 2024 one day international series against Sri Lanka is eye opener for the Indian side. They will be expecting to leave their recent miseries in the dustbin and start making their comebacks. The series will be especially important for a number of athletes regaded as the main stars of the team. If India can sort out their batting department and get some sort of solidity, then the team is sure to triumph the series. Still, little by little , it might become a challenging election fight this time.
Prediction
India will target for the victory in the next match to make it a level series tied 1-1. However if they persist such a lead could be taken by Sri Lanka which would make it impossible for the Bangladesh cricket team to come back into the series. This means that the Indian team has to sit down and think hard on how they can penetrate the Sri-Lankan team especially with their aggressive bowling style. If they can do that they might still stand a small chance of being able to win the series.
What Next ?
The Second match of One Day International series will be held on 4 of August, of the year 2024 at R. Premadasa Stadium. Thus, India will be keen on getting a stronger reply after having a setback in the earlier One Day International. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be eager to press on with the winning streak and to dominate the series from this match onwards. The match is set to be a desperate one because both the teams have to clinch a victory desperately.