TIL Desk Sports/ Handed an embarrassing defeat in the opening One-Day International, a wounded India would look to get even against an inspired Sri Lanka in a do-or-die second match, in Mohali, on Wednesday. The loss not only hurt but was also an eye-opener for a team that has been dominant all throughout the long home season.
Proving that the opening day surrender to Sri Lanka pacers in the first Test at the Eden Gardens last month was no aberration, the Indian batting stood exposed once again against the moving ball. Chandigarh won’t be as cold as Dharamsala but the pacers should come into play considering it is another 1130 am IST start to the day-night affair.
In that case, it will be another test for the Indian batsmen if the home team have to bat first in a must-win contest. Barring old war-horse Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the highly-rated batsmen seemed like sitting ducks every time Suranga Lakmal pitched the ball up in the off-stump corridor.
After the experienced Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan fell early, it was an ideal opportunity for the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey to weather the initial storm and make a big score. However, they all came a cropper and if it was not for Dhoni’s fighting 65, India could well have been bundled out for their lowest ever total.
