India’s Assistant Coach Abhishek Nayar Admits Team was Shocked by Loss to Sri Lanka

India’s assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, expressed surprise at the team’s unexpected loss to Sri Lanka. Known as the underdogs, Sri Lanka presented significant challenges to India in consecutive matches, requiring India to introspect deeply after their defeat on Sunday.

In the three-match series, Sri Lanka took an early lead after the first game ended in a tie. India, chasing a target of 241 on a spin-friendly pitch, was bowled out for 208 in the 43rd over.

Following the loss, Nayar acknowledged Jeffrey Vandersay’s match-winning performance, which saw him take six crucial wickets, as well as the resilience shown by Sri Lanka’s lower-order batsmen. “The shift in the game’s momentum was a surprise. Although we anticipated a challenge due to the spin-friendly conditions, the game changed dramatically,” Nayar said.

Nayar highlighted that scoring against the new ball was relatively easier, similar to the previous game. However, once the ball aged, batting became increasingly difficult, a common scenario in this format. Vandersay’s precise stump-to-stump bowling, leveraging the pitch’s turn, proved critical in Sri Lanka’s success.

He also noted the difference in pressure between batting first and chasing. Setting a target typically allows for building partnerships with less pressure, whereas chasing requires constant monitoring of the run rate and preserving wickets. Nayar praised Wellalage’s exceptional batting in both matches.

Key wickets lost in the middle overs significantly contributed to India’s downfall. The middle-order batsmen were on the crease during a crucial phase, but the focus on maintaining a left-right combination, given Sri Lanka’s spin attack, didn’t yield the desired results.

As the final match of the series approaches on August 7th, India will aim to regroup and avoid a series defeat, learning from the challenges faced in the previous games.