Asia Cup 2022: 3 mistakes Team India must avoid against Sri Lanka

Team India began their Asia Cup 2022 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Pakistan and Hong Kong by five wickets and 40 runs, respectively, in the group stage. However, they went down to Pakistan by five wickets in their first Super 4 clash on Sunday, September 4.

Asked to bat first after losing the toss, the Men in Blue posted a competitive 181 for seven on the board. Virat Kohli led the way with a defiant 60 off 44 balls. However, the bowlers failed to defend the total as Pakistan got home in the last over in another tense finish.

The defeat means that India’s second Super 4 match against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday, September 6, now becomes a must-win game for them to stay in contention for a place in the final.

Although the Men in Blue competed hard against Pakistan, they made quite a few errors, which cost them dearly.

In this feature, we analyze three mistakes that Team India must avoid against Sri Lanka.

---

#1 Batters throwing their wickets away

Team India’s keeper-batter Rishabh Pant walks back after being dismissed. Pic: Getty Images

India got off to a terrific start in their Super 4 match against Pakistan in Dubai. Openers Rohit Sharma (28 off 16) and KL Rahul (28 off 20) went absolutely berserk as India raced away to 54 in five overs. What happened after that, however, cost the team at least 20 runs, which proved vital in the end.

After Rohit and Rahul were dismissed in quick succession, the other batters should have shown better application. However, apart from Kohli, most of the others threw their wickets away. Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav, in particular, fell in disappointing fashion, going for premeditated shots. It did not help that Hardik Pandya also had an off day.

India’s batting performance in the middle overs was almost as if they were following England's ‘Bazball’ theory. Yes, Team India’s aggressive approach will backfire at times, like it did against Pakistan.

However, there needs to be a sense of balance, even to an attacking ploy. This was clearly missing in India’s batting performance on Sunday, and they paid a heavy price for the same.

---

#2 Making questionable selection moves

Team India celebrate a wicket against Pakistan. Pic: Getty Images

Of course, it is always easy to make an assessment in hindsight. However, India’s selection for the match against Pakistan left a lot to be desired. They dropped their designated finisher in Dinesh Karthik to accommodate a left-hander in Pant after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out due to injury.

It was a tactical decision, but Pant yet again flattered to deceive in a T20I, playing an ungainly reverse sweep against leg-spinner Shabad Khan. No wonder Rohit was miffed with Pant’s southpaw’s strokeplay. But his reaction was somewhat ironic in the sense that he wanted the players to go out and express themselves freely.

India also went for Deepak Hooda ahead of Axar Patel, keeping in mind that Pakistan had three left-handers in their line-up. However, Rohit did not utilize Hooda’s off-spin at all, which raised further questions about his selection.

Hooda’s batting has also not been the same since the first T20I against England, when he hammered 33 off 17. He struggled for rhythm during the tour of West Indies and did not have a great ODI series in Zimbabwe as well.

Team India will need to be very careful with their team selection for the crunch match against Sri Lanka. Any tactical blunder could severely dent their chances of progressing to the final of the Asia Cup 2022.

---

#3 Dropping sitters

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma (left) reacts after Arshdeep Singh drops a simple catch against Pakistan. Pic: Disney+ Hotstar

Yes, people make mistakes and there will be times when catches will be dropped. However, Arshdeep Singh’s casual attempt at taking the catch from Asif Ali is not something that is acceptable at the international level. He clearly took it way too easy and, as a result, put down one of the simplest of chances. Indian captain Rohit’s reaction to Arshdeep’s effort, or the lack of it, said it all.

It would be extremely unfair on the young left-arm pacer to conclude that his dropped catch cost India the match. However, it is equally true that had he held on, there would have been a lot of pressure on Pakistan’s batters in the last couple of overs.

The India vs Sri Lanka match is set to happen on 6th Sep, find the details on Asia Cup 2022 schedule.

As things panned out, Ali slammed two fours and a six to effectively seal India’s fate in the match. Considering the significance of the game against Sri Lanka, Team India cannot afford any such basic errors, which could potentially end up being a turning point in the contest.

---