India’s star batter Virat Kohli failed to live up to the expectations in the recently held ODI series against Sri Lanka, registering scores of 24, 14 and 20 in three games.
Apart from the low scores, Kohli didn’t look comfortable against the Sri Lankan spinners. While Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed him in the series opener, Jeffrey Vandersay and Dunith Wellalage got his prized scalp in the second and third ODIs respectively. He was out LBW in all the matches.
After India’s series loss, the discussions regarding Kohli’s issues against spin once again dominated the headlines. However, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik reckons that the visitors were troubled significantly due to the amount of turn the track had to offer.
According to Karthik, the pitch was difficult for all batters in the line-up although skipper Rohit Sharma managed to score quick runs in the powerplay.
Karthik, who shared the dressing room with Kohli during his time at RCB, opined that the surface in Colombo was particularly tricky during the middle-overs.
“In this series… let's admit. Be it Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or anyone else. With a slightly semi-new ball, between overs 8-30, it's hard work. Nothing to worry about. Not too many pitches work that way, but it's been a tough pitch to play spinners. I'm not going to defend Virat Kohli here, but playing spin here is very hard,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
In all three ODIs, the tourists failed to chase down sub-250 targets, including a dismal 138 all-out in the last fixture that saw them suffering a 110-run thrashing to concede the series.
Following the series win, Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana took a dig at the Indian batters, saying that they usually play on “good wickets” and “small boundaries” back home.
“They (India) usually play on good wickets and small boundaries in India. We knew playing in Premadasa, if there’s little bit turn, we can take advantage because we have good spinners,” Theekshana had said.
Team India lost the three-match series 2-0 after the first ODI in Colombo ended in a tie. It was their first bilateral series loss to Sri Lanka in the 50-over format since 1997.
