India vs Sri Lanka Live Score, 2nd ODI: Axar Patel picks Sadeera Samarawickrama, SL 132/4 vs IND in Colombo | Cricket News
India’s Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh walk back to pavilion after the the first ODI cricket match between Sri Lanka and India was tied in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
IND vs SL 1st ODI: On a throwback wicket, Indian batsmen find the going tough
The slow pitch at the Premadasa was a throwback to the 90s. The seamers found movement with the new ball, but quick runs were in the offering too. Once the spinners came on, batsmen were in for a grind, where they had to indulge in ones and twos. The conditions dictated batsmen to play a different brand of cricket, from the 90s, which posed a challenge for both sets of batsmen from Sri Lanka and India. After a seven-and-a-half hour slugfest, there was nothing to separate largely ordinary batting from both teams as the first ODI ended in a tie.
With 231 to chase on a pitch that was only going to slow further down under lights, if not for Rohit Sharma’s aggressive approach at the top where he mixed aggression with caution, India would have fallen way short of the target. At 71/0 at the end of 10 overs, India appeared to be cruising. But the Premadasa pitch comes to life under lights. It is a scene Indians have witnessed in the 90s as once the ball got soft, Sri Lanka’s spinners made a match out of this. Every time India surged ahead, the hosts hit back, a theme that repeated throughout the evening. When Shivam Dube smashed a boundary off Charith Asalanka over with 5 needed off 16 deliveries and two wickets in hand, it appeared over. But Asalanka dismissed Dube and Arshdeep Singh off successive deliveries to tie the match.
Playing the first ODI in over six months, the rustiness of Indian batsmen was evident. After Rohit gave them a head start in the chase, making a 47-ball 58 which included seven boundaries and three sixes, the required run-rate remained under control until the end. All that India needed was one big partnership if not two vital ones. But barring the 57-run stand between KL Rahul and Axar Patel for the sixth wicket, the India’s batting line-up lost the way as Sri Lanka’s spinners took 9 of the 10 wickets to fall. After Rohit’s 57, only Axar and Rahul managed to cross 30s as Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Dube all squandered starts. (READ MORE)
