The struggle of Indian batters against good spinners are not new and Sri Lanka has exploited this weakness to the maximum potential in the friendly conditions to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. India dominated both games, however, the endings did not go their way. The first ODI resulted in a tie while the second one came to an end as India lost by 32 runs.
This second ODI had a similar pattern to the first ODI where the middle order was brought down by Sri Lankan spinners. A partnership of 97 runs before the first wicket in a chase of 241 runs seems like a match-winning score, but that was not the scenario for India. They lost wickets after wickets and got to 147-6, leaving hopes for Axar Patel, who went on to play for 44 but could not survive any more than that.
The failure of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put India in a spot to be bothered in. Given his recent form along with the records against the Island Nation, Kohli was especially expected to smoke Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, he has been flop in both the matches. Kohli was lucky enough to survive a DRS outcome, but could not make it big and was dismissed for just 14 runs.
After the match ended, Jayasuriya Stopped Kohli during the post-match handshake and both of them had a small chat. It is not clear what they talked about but it looked like a friendly chat as both of them gave a pat on each other’s shoulders and moved on.
