Beating behind the pinnacle of the last two ODIs played between Sri Lanka and India going into this white-ball series, when India thrashed Sri Lanka by 302 runs in Cricket World Cup 2023 and then reduced the hosts to an absolute debacle of 50 all out in the first innings of the Asia Cup 2023 final, it has turned out to be a surprise that India is now cornered 1-0 down going into the final game on August 7, 2024.
Ahead of the final ODI series, Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar jumped to defend his team’s capabilities and the proficiency of its batters. He added that the final game was expected to have similar spin-friendly conditions; however, the team is full of adept players of spin. He said that most of the team members had enough experience of playing on such turning tracks, as many of them had played domestic matches on the same kind of tracks, even in the ultra-long format of the game.
“We’re good players of spin. The first two games have been on extremely spinning pitches and we’re expecting similar things on Wednesday. We’ve always played on these types of pitches, even back home, even in Test matches. In domestic cricket, we play a lot of games on such wickets,” Washington Sundar said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
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Washington Sundar, adjudged the Player of the Series in the just concluded series against Zimbabwe, said the key lay in each player adhering to his strengths and executing his role to the best of abilities. He added that collectively as a team, the Indian team has shown time and again in years that every single player steps up at different times. Sundar expressed confidence in the team’s ability to stage a comeback.
“It’s just a matter of finding a way in their own individual self, and trying to get the job done. Everyone knows it’s a challenging wicket. The Indian team has always been one where everyone puts their hands up, especially when the challenge arises,” mentioned Washington Sundar.
He said he expects the hosts to be restricted to 200 or less if they bat first in the final ODI, as they did in both previous instances. Sundar termed the third ODI as a perfect situation for the team to prove its potential for performing under pressure, and added that in big tournaments, such situations would definitely arise.
“We’d love to get them out for 200 or less than that. We had them in that situation in both matches. With big tournaments coming up, we’ll be in similar situations, and it’s an opportunity for us to find a way to get the job done in crunch situations. We just need to put our hands up and win those critical situations in the game,” added Washington Sundar.
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One of the significant problems India have faced throughout this series is allowing Sri Lanka’s lower-middle order batsmen—especially Dunith Wellalage—to string together important partnerships during the last 10 overs of the innings. This will be at the back of Sundar’s mind, being one of the three spinners India will depend on to stymie any possible middle-order partnerships by the Lankans in the final of this series.
