India poised for another clean sweep
With Sri Lanka hardly putting up any resistance, Kohli will aim for his third fivematch series whitewash
COLOMBO:
The Indian cricket team is unlikely to face much resistance in the bid to complete a sweep of the one-day series with victory over Sri Lanka in the final game at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
Virat Kohli led from the front by top-scoring with 131 before the visitors handed Sri Lanka a 168-run defeat in the fourth ODI on Thursday, their biggest loss in terms of runs at home.
With a series lead of 4-0, the Indian cricket team is enjoying a two-day break ahead of the final match of the series. Victory would be India’s fifth sweep of a five-match series, and second against Sri Lanka. It would also be the third for Virat Kohli as skipper.
Although the opposition has hardly asked questions of India, the short break would have given the side to ponder over how to strengthen the side further, with a far stronger Australia looming as a bigger challenge in the home series starting once they return home. SAGGING MIDDLE The biggest cause of concern would be the middle-order. The attempt to turn the talented opener KL Rahul into a middleorder batsman as part of the team management’s experiments in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup has failed miserably in this series.
The 25–year-old Karnataka batsman, a picture of assurance opening the batting, has looked completely out of sorts walking into spin first up. It was less experiment and more a forced change as Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have cemented their spots at the top of the order.
While Rahul did not bat in the first game, he has managed just 4, 17 and 7 in the last three matches. In fact, Sri Lanka’s only success in an otherwise poor series has been with their tactic for the batsman.
In each innings, spinner Akila Dananjaya has got Rahul early. The first time he was bowled off a googly, and in the next caught in the deep in his anxiety to hit the bowler out of the attack. In the last game, again Rahul fell trying to flick from outside the offstump, only to give a tame catch to midwicket.
Manish Pandey explained after the match that Rahul will need time to come good in his new role. The lack of pace in the bowling batting in the middleovers seems to have affected Rahul. In fact, the moment he came in, Sri Lanka brought on Dananjaya and he struck.
While Rahul grapples with his new role, Ajinkya Rahane has waited to get a game. Unable to get in as ODI opener, despite emerging Man-of-the-Series in the last series in the West Indies, the Test No. 5 has also not got a chance in the middle-order.
India may not be able to afford the luxury of the middle-order repeatedly failing going forward, as it has in the current series.
The other role will be that of wicketkeeper-batsman, done with the success by MS Dhoni in this series. With scores of 45 no, 67 no and 49 no, he has provided finishing touches and three century partnerships.
However, the focus on him is due to his age – he will be 38 when the 2019 World Cup is played – and it will be important to groom a second keeper-batsman.
Sri Lanka have slumped in this current tour. However, they will be boosted by the return of skipper Upul Tharanga, after serving a two-match ban due to slow over-rate. Opener Dhanushka Gunathilaka also could return if he has fully recovered from the shoulder injury suffered in the third ODI.