“Was it a shock? I would say yes,” said India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar as he tried to make sense of the unexpected defeat to Sri Lanka in the second ODI, blaming it on the spin-friendly conditions that have the potential to completely alter the course of a match.
India’s fragility against spin was once again on display as leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay wreaked havoc with a six-wicket haul to hand the visitors a 32-run defeat in the second ODI here on Sunday.
“…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,” Nayar said at the post-match press conference.
India were chasing 241 on a pitch that had plenty of assistance for the spinners, and they ended up at 208 all out in 42.2 overs. In the previous game as well, the Indian batters barring skipper Rohit Sharma had struggled.
“Even if you look at the last game, it was relatively easy to score against the new ball. As the ball got older, the conditions when batting second got slightly tougher. Sometimes in tough conditions, especially in the 50-over format, this happens,” he added.