"It is a surprise," says India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on loss in 2nd ODI vs Sri Lanka

Abhishek Nayar praised Jeffrey Vandersay for his six-wicket haul in the second ODI in Colombo.

India’s 32-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second match of the ongoing SL vs IND ODI series came as a “surprise” to India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

While defending 241, Jeffrey Vandersay spun a web around the Indian batters in the second ODI of the series on Sunday to take a memorable six-wicket haul that forced India’s collapse from 97/0 to 147/6. India couldn’t recover and were bundled out for 208.

With this win, following the tied first ODI, Sri Lanka have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series with one game to go. Sri Lanka have a great chance to register their first bilateral ODI series win over India since 1997.

For India, Abhishek Nayar said, they need to understand why their batting order has suffered collapses in two consecutive games.

In the post-match press conference, Nayar said, “We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday, we were able to stitch partnerships. But today we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle.”

“Was it a shock? I would say yes”: Abhishek Nayar

Nayar said that the loss was a shock for him. However, the assistant coach conceded that in spin-friendly conditions at the RPS Colombo, Sri Lanka are a force to be reckoned with.

“Was it a shock? I would say yes, there is a surprise. But you anticipate and understand that in these conditions the game can turn on its head because there is so much spin on offer,” he said.

Nayar further praised Vandersay, saying “They bowled well – I think Vandersay bowled the ideal length in these conditions. In such conditions, when the ball is turning – and the way Vandersay bowled today, used his finger, and bowled stump to stump – you get these phases when there is assistance from the pitch. I feel today we should give more credit to Sri Lanka”

The third ODI will be played on Wednesday, August 7.

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