India faced a decisive defeat against Sri Lanka in the third and final One Day International (ODI) match held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. This loss sealed the series at 2-0 in favour of the hosts, marking Sri Lanka’s first bilateral series victory over India since 1997 and ending a 27-year wait.
The Indian team, led by captain Rohit Sharma, struggled to match the performance of their Sri Lankan counterparts throughout the series. In the post-match presentation, Sharma addressed questions regarding the team’s performance and firmly dismissed claims of complacency.
“It’s a joke. When you are playing for India, there is never going to be complacency. As long as I’m here, that’s not going to be the case. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us,” he asserted.
Despite the loss, Sharma emphasized the importance of learning from the series. He acknowledged that the team faced significant challenges, particularly against Sri Lanka’s spin attack, and expressed the need for introspection and improvement.
“I don’t think it’s a concern, but it’s something we need to look at seriously—our individual game plans—and it’s something that we were definitely put under pressure within this series,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s captain won the toss and opted to bat first for the third consecutive time, setting a competitive target of 248/7 in their allotted 50 overs. The hosts’ innings was bolstered by two significant partnerships, with Avishka Fernando leading the charge with a near-century score of 96 runs.
However, India’s Riyan Parag, making his ODI debut, proved to be a key player in curbing Sri Lanka’s momentum. Parag took three crucial wickets, including that of Fernando, showing his potential as a valuable addition to the Indian bowling lineup.
India’s batting response began with promise, as Rohit Sharma delivered an aggressive start. However, the team soon encountered a middle-order collapse, with Indian batters struggling to cope with Sri Lanka’s spin bowlers. This led to India’s eventual downfall, as they suffered a 110-run defeat.
While the loss was a setback, Sharma remained optimistic about the team’s future prospects. “Series loss doesn’t mean the end of the world. These guys have been playing very well over the past few years; very consistent. You will lose the odd series. We lost the series and I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. We need to go back and look at what we need to do when we come up against conditions like this,” he concluded.
As India reflects on this series loss, the focus will likely shift towards addressing the shortcomings identified during these matches, particularly the struggle against spin bowling. The team will aim to refine their strategies and improve their performance in preparation for future challenges.
