The young pace bowling unit will look to pick up pieces from the hammering of the previous night even as the Indian top-order itches to put in a meaningful performance against Sri Lanka in the decider of the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday. After eking out a narrow last-ball win in the opener, India fell short by a 16-run defeat as Sri Lanka levelled the three-match series 1-1. The inconsistency of a young attack was one of the reasons for the loss, but in the future, pacers Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi will know that it was a great learning experience for them.
They erred in their lines and only sometimes bowled the fuller length, making the Sri Lankan batters' job easy to guide the pace of the short-pitched stuff. The Indian bowling unit bled runs with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who returned to the playing XI after a spell of injuries, bowling as many as five no-balls in his two overs.
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Arshdeep stepped over the line three times on the trot in his first over, making him the first India bowler to bowl a hat-trick of no-balls in a T20I. Mavi made a sensational T20I debut in the opening game, and Arshdeep added to the no-ball count, as they also missed the trick with skipper Hardik Pandya, who had to rely on his spinners, lamenting that the team needs to get its basics right.
But, the youngsters in the team are expected to have more chances as they gather valuable experience. "The young kids will have games like this at times, and I think we all need to be patient with them, [but] we need to understand that games like this can't happen," head coach Rahul Dravid said.
"I think as they're learning, it's tough. It's not easy learning in international cricket. You have to learn on the job. I think we're going to have to have a little patience with these guys," Dravid added. On the batting front, the top order, once again, needed to provide a solid start. Opener Shubman Gill succumbed to his second successive failure in the series and would be eager to capitalise on the opportunities in hand like top-order batter Rahul Tripathi, who too perished cheaply in his debut game.
It was the second instance of the top-order collapse in the series. But, despite half the team returning to the dugout under 60 runs, it was heartening to see India still go for the chase as Axar Patel, and Suryakumar Yadav almost pulled off the impossible. In Axar, India has found a reliable like-for-like replacement for all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
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The team is expected to give its core more games to form lethal combinations as it prepares for life beyond Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the game's shortest format. India is unlikely to make any changes for the series decider, with head coach Dravid asserting, "We are not going to be chopping and changing people too much."
As expected, Sri Lanka has given a solid fight to the hosts. The reigning Asia Cup champion came back strongly to level the series. However, it would like its middle order to perform better. Rajkot is one of the flattest tracks in the country and is expected to be a batting belter. The toss could thus play an essential role, as both captains would like to chase.
Match details
Date and day: January 7, 2023 (Saturday)
Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium, Rajkot
Time: 7.00 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)