Sri Lanka has been on a losing streak for a while now. They have lost five consecutive T20I series and are staring down at another series defeat against Team India. India won the first match of the ongoing three-match T20I series.
Opting to bowl first, Sri Lanka restricted India to 164/5. In reply, Sri Lanka started well, only to lose their track in the middle overs. There was too much job to be done in the death overs with 58 runs still required of the last five overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked three wickets (4/22 overall) in this phase to bowl out Sri Lanka to 126.
Speaking about the match, former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja said that there was no point in playing at home if a team can't chase 160. He questioned the approach and planning of the chase and said the hosts showed no intent to win.
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“When India scored 160-odd, they would have thought of winning this because you can expect Sri Lanka to commit mistakes frequently. To chase a target like this, you needed one or two partnerships. At least one batsman should have scored 70-odd runs and you could have crossed the line. But there was no strategy from this Sri Lankan team,” Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube channel.
“If you can't chase 160 at home, where will you? And losing a game shatters the confidence of the team. To bring new players into a losing environment is dangerous. An unhappy environment in the dressing room squeezes your confidence and fearlessness. So, it is important for Sri Lanka to start preparing wickets that challenge India,” Ramiz added.
The former player opined that the Sri Lankan team need to come up with novel strategies to revive themselves and that could start by winning matches at home.
“This could be a tough series for Sri Lanka. They need to do something now. Especially, the middle-order needs to score runs. Similarly, while bowling, you cannot bowl well in patches. You need to be consistent. Spin did work for them but there was no consistency and succumbed to pressure. There's no point in playing at home if you can’t score 160,” Raja concluded.
The second match of the series will be played on Tuesday, 27 July starting at 8 pm IST.
(Inputs: Hindutsan Times)
