India cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar came to the defence of the middle order batters after their poor show in the IND vs SL 2nd ODI. While Shivam Dube and KL Rahul were dismissed for ducks, Shreyas Iyer managed to make 7 runs. The only bright prospect for the middle order was Axar Patel, who managed a 44-run knock.
India’s middle order strategy well thought: Nayar
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Nayar said that the team kept the left-right hand combination in mind while taking a call on the composition of the middle-order. He added that the thought process was right but admitted that questions would be raised when it didn’t work out. However, he asserted that he will stick with his belief in the approach.
“If you look at numbers like four, five, or six, maybe sometimes it can play games in your head. It was more about keeping a left-and-right combination, keeping in mind that there were off-spinners, and a legs pinner in the Sri Lanka team,” Nayar said.
India’s middle order faced the wrath of Sri Lanka’s Jeffery Vandersay as they lost wickets in a bundle in between overs 14 and 24. India were six wickets down by the time the halfway-mark of the innings was reached and all six batters were Vandersay’s victims.
Shocked but not surprising
The assistant coach went to claim that while the loss came across as a shock, it wasn’t surprising. He said that the conditions were as such that they game could turn head-on.
“Was it a shock? I would yes, there is a surprise,” Nayar said. “But you anticipate and understand that in these conditions the game can turn on its head because there is so much spin on offer.”
‘Credit goes to Sri Lanka’
Assistant coach Nayar said that the team would retrospect on what went wrong and will rectify it. He also added that the batters weren’t able to build partnerships unlike they did in the 1st ODI.
“In such conditions, when the ball is turning – and the way Vandersay bowled today, used his finger, and bowled stump to stump – you get these phases when there is assistance from the pitch. I feel today we should give more credit to Sri Lanka,” Nayar said.
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