SL vs IND 2024: 3 things India need to do to win the third ODI

The hosts have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match SL vs IND ODI series.

The Indian cricket team have been pushed into a position where they must win the third ODI in the ongoing SL vs IND ODI series in Sri Lanka. The first match ended in a tie and the second ODI was won by the hosts by 32 runs.

Both SL v IND ODI matches saw India’s batting collapse after sizzling starts from captain Rohit Sharma.

While Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka downed the Indian batting order in the first ODI, leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay looked unplayable in the second ODI on the slow, low and turning pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Sri Lanka now have a great chance of ending a 27-year wait since their last bilateral ODI series win over India. They last defeated India in a bilateral ODI series in 1997. India must win the third ODI to avoid the ignominy of losing to a team that had finished ninth in the points table in last year’s World Cup.

SL vs IND: 3 things India need to do to win the third ODI

Stop the shuffling of the batting order

India head coach Gautam Gambhir needs to stop shuffling the batting order. In both the SL vs IND ODIs so far, it was perplexing to see Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul not bat in their designated positions of numbers 4 and 5, respectively – spots that they had cemented with emphatic performances during last year’s World Cup.

Gambhir has promoted the likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube ahead of Iyer and Rahul – India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar explained that it was to keep a left-right combination in the middle. However, ODI cricket doesn’t require the match-ups like T20 cricket.

Batters should bat in their designated positions to gain the best out of them, especially numbers 4 and 5, whose roles are different from numbers 6 and 7 in 50-over cricket.

Need to stop the collapses

For two games in a row, India have suffered shocking batting collapses. In the first SL vs IND ODI, they went from 75/0 to 132/5, and in the second ODI, from 97/0 to 147/6. While in the first ODI, the lower-middle-order helped in tying the match, in the second, India lost by 32 runs.

India need collapse-arrestors like KL Rahul to get in early when the middle-order starts to fumble. Iyer is someone who can counter-attack and release the pressure. Either by defending or counter-attacking, India must find a way to arrest such collapses.

Don’t allow Sri Lanka’s lower order to score crucial runs

While the batters are getting plenty of criticism – deservedly – the bowlers must also look to improve their efforts against Sri Lanka’s lower-middle-order.

In the first SL vs IND ODI, India allowed Sri Lanka to go from 142/6 to 230 with Dunith Wellalage smashing 67* (65). In the second ODI, Sri Lanka were 136/6 but Wellalage’s 39 (35) and Kamindu Mendis’ 40 (44) took them to 240. This was despite the pitch offering plenty of turn and grip. Both times India should have restricted Sri Lanka under 220 and both times India lost the advantage.

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