Indian batsmen rose to the occasion

Lily

B.R
Staff member
India pulled off a stunning win over Sri Lanka which gives them the hope that they can still qualify for the finals of the tri-series. It was by far India's best performance of what has been a dismal tour, and if it galvanises the team to go on to win the tri-series, then it will make up for the dejection of Indian fans over the summer. Of course, Sri Lanka can win the last game against Australia, who have already qualified, and still spoil India's party.

When India conceded 320 runs, only the most optimistic Indian supporter would have believed that India would chase it, leave alone in under-40 overs. India's batting had just not clicked and though there were sporadic innings, the consistency was not there. Moreover, India had just not got off to a good start in the entire tournament.

Stable start

This time, they got off to a 50-plus beginning, with Sehwag and Tendulkar playing some superb shots. India got just the momentum that they needed. Gambhir is the one top order batsman in good form and he continued the good work by playing some lovely shots.

Virat Kohli, who has got going but has not really finished in this series so far, saved his best when India needed it most. If in the earlier outings, he gave the impression that with a Test century under his belt, runs would come easily and thus got out, here, his focus was intense. This was exactly what was missing in India's earlier games. There was a lethargy about the team that was perhaps due to the length of the tour and the fact that India were not winning much. Luckily, despite that lethargic display by the bowlers, the batsmen rose to the occasion magnificently and showed why they are rated highly.

Perfect conditions

The situation for Raina when he came into bat was what he thrives on, especially in the T20 format of the game. It was also a sub-continental attack he was facing and so, he got going immediately.

Lasith Malinga has never been hammered as much as he was in this game and Kulasekara continued to bowl those medium pace full tosses around the knee which are what batsmen get in charity and benefit matches. At his pace, those are like early Diwali gifts and it does look like nobody in the Lankan team has realised that it's a tactic that invites disaster. He did that in the finals of the World Cup, when the match was evenly poised and Dhoni just flicked him away for boundary after boundary then, just like Kohli and Raina did at Hobart.

— Professional Management Group
 
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