August 24, 1997, was the date when Sri Lanka last thrashed Team India in an ODI bilateral series. Yes, it was 27 years ago, and there was a certain Sanath Jayasuriya who bludgeoned an Indian attack for 210 runs at a huge strike rate of 139.07. He won the Player of the Series award at that time. Fast forward 27 years, and the same man has been in the Lankan dressing room, orchestrating a similar heroic against a star-studded Indian unit as a head coach.
Lankan spin has choked India
The secret to Sri Lanka’s resurgence lies in their spin attack. They have stranglehold the Indian batters, especially the middle-order with aplomb. Despite both star spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana out with injuries, leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay has been the wrecker-in-chief.
His tenacity came out of syllabus for India as the 34-year-old claiming six wickets in the second ODI to dismantle the Indian batting lineup. Captain Charith Asalanka, who doubles as an off-spinner, has also been effective, picking up crucial wickets. Akila Dhananjaya and Kamindu Mendis are there as well to provide more overs of spin in order to choke India on difficult conditions in Colombo.
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Crumbling Indian middle-order
India’s batting, which has been the cornerstone of their success in recent years, has found the going tough against the slow, turning pitches. While Rohit Sharma has set a blistering template early on, others have massively let down. The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have all looked rusty, and have even failed to read the ball from a spinner’s hand.
Sri Lanka’s end to 27-year wait?
Sanath Jayasuriya and skipper Asalanka won’t find a much better chance to break Sri Lanka’s 27-year of wait. The cherry on the cake for the Lankans would be the fact that this is India’s first-choice team. Barring Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, all top tier players are featuring in the ongoing series.
With the series on the line, the third and final ODI promises to be a high-stakes encounter. If Sri Lanka can maintain their momentum and exploit India’s vulnerabilities (once more), they could etch their names in the history books. However, India will be desperate to avoid a humiliating series defeat and will fight tooth and nail to salvage their pride.
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