West Indies tri-series 2013: Match 3 – India vs Sri Lanka – Heroes and Flops

Flops

Indian team management

The Indian team missed Dhoni, and didn’t have much to celebrate about in the match

Already under pressure due to talismanic captain Dhoni’s injury, the Indian team management had a game to forget. The decision to include Shami Ahmed in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar flopped, and the seamer disappointed. The fielding was well below-par and a far cry from what was on display in the Champions Trophy.

The decision to send Murali Vijay to bat at number 3 after a slow start by the openers was debatable. Vijay was clearly short of confidence, and considering the huge target, the Indian team could have done with some quick runs by sending a pinch-hitter instead.

Indian Fielding

Indians were sloppy on the field and dropped a couple of catches too

After the highs of being called the best fielding unit in the Champions Trophy, the Indian fielding unit had an off day. Murli Vijay dropped Jayawardene early on, and Umesh Yadav dropped Tharanga when he was in his 90s. Plenty of extra runs were gifted too, with plenty of misfields. Trevor Penney has work to do to get the fielding unit back in shape for the next game after the horror show yesterday.

Indian bowling

Shami Ahmed came into the team in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and had a lacklustre outing, with figures of 0-68 off 10 overs

The seamers bowled with an erratic line and were taken apart by the Sri Lankan openers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who almost always would provide an early breakthrough, was missed as the openers piled on the runs and looked unstoppable. The seamers were not helped by the poor fielding too. The spinners also had an off day, with Ashwin managing to pick up the solitary wicket to fall.

Indian Batting

Murali Vijay clean bowled by Malinga for 30

Chasing a huge target, the Indian chase never took off. The openers were slow to begin with, and the scoring rate never picked up as wickets kept falling. The target of 349 looked unreachable and the batsmen didn’t show any fight to make an attempt to chase it.

Conclusion

When the Flops section consists of the Indian team management, batting, bowling and fielding, it clearly shows that it was a game where nothing went to plan for India.

Having given the bonus point to Sri Lanka, making a comeback in the tournament will be a tough task for India. If they want to make a serious challenge for a spot in the final, it’ll need a much improved performance from the Indian team which appears to have not gotten over the hangover of the Champions Trophy victory.