India-Sri Lanka cricket series: India look to find way past Lankan spinners

Colombo, August 3
Measures to battle a sluggish pitch and an assortment of Sri Lankan slow bowlers will feature high on India’s strategy list for the second ODI to be played here tomorrow.
Chasing a manageable 231, India were comfortably placed at 130/3 in the first ODI yesterday before losing their way against the Lankan spinners, who showed enough pluck to bowl out the visitors for 230 to earn a tie.
Once they survived the Rohit Sharma onslaught upfront, Sri Lanka executed their plans well against the Indian batters, who are not the cleverest performers on turners, while not many are though.
The home side employed their army of tweakers against Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, the meat of Indian top and middle order, with a telling amount of success.
The troika was not uncomfortable but was unable to break free either against some well-directed moves of the Lankans, who were precise in their calculations.
Kohli was tied up by Dunith Wellalage, the left-arm spinner, and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga as the 29 balls that the Indian batter faced out of a total of 32 were by the spinners.
Hasaranga eventually nicked him off, while seeing the comfort of Shreyas against spinners, Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka pressed pacer Asitha Fernando into service.
Fernando repaid the faith in him with the wicket of Shreyas with a peach, also the only Indian wicket to have fallen to a quick.
Rahul, another excellent player of spin, too was snaffled by Hasaranga.
Stuttering in one match offers too small a footprint to go after some of the accomplished names, but the Indians will be eager to bat long and rotate strike, which is the key to nullifying spinners on such decks.
Sri Lankans Pathum Nissanka and Wellalage showed that en route to their fifties despite a flurry of wickets at the other end, while dealing with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar effectively. — PTI

Today on TV
Second ODI
India vs Sri Lanka
Sony Sports 2:30pm