Team India failed to get an explosive finish to their innings for the second game in a row as they ended up with 173/8 in their 20 overs in the Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
After losing a couple of early wickets, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav stitched together a brilliant partnership and it looked like the Men in Blue would score way beyond the 180-run mark.
But that wasn't to be the case as the Sri Lankan bowlers continued their impressive performance at the death and restricted India to a total that looked to be below par. The likes of Deepak Hooda (3) and Rishabh Pant (17) once again didn't make the most of their opportunities, while Hardik Pandya (17) failed to deliver for the second game in a row.
Fans on Twitter slammed the management for once again benching Dinesh Karthik as his absence was felt dearly by the team. They also trolled the likes of Pant and Hooda for not delivering when needed. Here are some of the reactions:
Team India lost too many wickets at the death once again
The problem with India's ultra-attacking batting approach is that they have found themselves short of wickets in hand when it comes to the final overs.
Rohit Sharma's scintillating 72 along with some good support from Suryakumar Yadav (34) gave their team hopes of putting on a daunting total.
But the Sri Lankans mixed their lengths really well that led to the Men in Blue losing wickets at regular intervals. Hardik and Pant were caught at mid-wicket, while Hooda was cleaned up while trying to play a scoop shot.
In response, the Sri Lankan openers have got off to a dream start and seem to be in the driver's seat at the time of writing. Only an almighty collapse from their side could see the opposition snatch a win. But at the moment, it's looking all gloomy for the Men in Blue.
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