August 5, 2024

Nayar: “In These Conditions The Game Can Turn on Its Head”

India’s assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, acknowledged that the team needs to address their underperforming batting after their surprise 32-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second ODI. He praised Sri Lankan spinner Jeffrey Vandersay for his impressive bowling, which was a key factor in India’s defeat. Nayar also highlighted the challenging pitch conditions that favored spin bowlers and praised Sri Lanka’s resilient lower-order batting. This loss was unexpected, given India’s recent dominance over Sri Lanka, but the pitch’s significant turn made it difficult for India’s batsmen.

“Was it a shock? I would say 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.

“Even if you look at the last game, it was relatively easy to score against the new ball. As the ball got older, the conditions when batting second got slightly tougher. Sometimes in tough conditions, especially in the 50-over format, this happens.

“We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday, we were able to stitch partnerships. But today we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle.”

That bundle of wickets came between overs 14 and 24, when India lost their six wickets – all against Vandersay – for 50 runs. Vandersay had the ball turning big from the outset, as many of India’s spinners also did. But he bowled tight lines too, and kept batters pinned in the crease with his lengths and flight.

“They bowled well – I think Vandersay bowled the ideal length in these conditions,” Nayar said. “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.”

Sri Lanka was struggling at 136 for 6 and looked set to score under 200. However, for the second match in a row, Dunith Wellalage played a crucial innings, scoring 39 off 35 balls from number 7. Kamindu Mendis, a batting allrounder who often bats higher in the order, added 40 off 44 balls at number 8. Thanks to their efforts, Sri Lanka reached 240 for 9, a total that proved challenging on this pitch.

“When you are batting first, there is less pressure,” Nayar said. “When you are chasing, the pressure is more because you have to keep an eye on the run rate, wickets. Whenever you bat first, you often have partnerships. Wellalage batted really well, both in the last game and this game. They scored important runs in the lower order.”

India made some changes to their batting order by moving Shivam Dube to No. 4, Shreyas Iyer to No. 6, and KL Rahul to No. 7. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar didn’t see these changes as drastic but rather as an attempt to maintain a left-right combination at the crease. He emphasized that the position of a batter only matters in different phases of the game. Since India lost wickets in the middle overs, it was the middle-order batters who had to come in, not the end-of-innings batters.

“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 offspinners, and a legspinner in the Sri Lanka team.

“The thought process was right. When it doesn’t work out, these questions are asked often. But I’ve always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision.”

Ashwin Fifty Powers Dindigul Dragons to Maiden TNPL Title

In the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) final, the Dindigul Dragons secured their first title by defeating the Lyca Kovai Kings. The Dragons’ bowlers did a great job, limiting the Kings to 129 for 7. Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy, and P Vignesh each took two wickets, while R Ashwin contributed with a tidy four-over spell conceding just 13 runs.

In response, Ashwin played a crucial role with 52 runs off 46 balls, his third consecutive fifty of the TNPL 2024 season. Despite a shaky start where the Dragons lost their openers early, Ashwin and B Indrajith (32 off 35) stabilized the innings with a 65-run partnership. The chase was completed comfortably with Sarath Kumar’s quick 27 off 15 balls, including two fours and two sixes.

Ashwin was named Player of the Match for his performance, while Shahrukh Khan was recognized for his overall contributions throughout the season, scoring 225 runs at a strike rate of 182.92 and taking 13 wickets, second only to M Poiyamozhi’s 16 wickets.