Washington Sundar reveals how Gautam Gambhir reacted after India's shambolic loss to Sri Lanka
Published - 06 Aug 2024, 04:34 PM | Updated - 24 Aug 2024, 07:29 AM
Washington Sundar has said the upcoming third ODI against Sri Lanka will give Team India a good opportunity to test themselves in spin-friendly conditions.
Team India needs to win the upcoming game at any cost to avoid a series defeat. Sri Lanka are currently leading the three-match series after winning the second ODI.
The first ODI had ended in a tie. In both games, most of India's batters struggled against Sri Lanka's spinners in testing conditions.
Barring captain Rohit Sharma, who scored a half-century in both games, no other Indian batsman has managed to impress in the series so far.
In the first game, India could not chase down 231 runs as they were all out for 231 even after Rohit smashed a 33-ball fifty and shared a 75-run stand with Shubman Gill for the second wicket.
In the second game, India's bowlers did well to restrict Sri Lanka to 240/9. Rohit then put India in the driver's seat by smashing a 29-ball fifty. He and Gill shared a 97-run stand in less than 14 overs.
However, the middle-order batters failed to deliver with the bat again as India was all out for 208 runs and lost the game by 32 runs. For Sri Lanka, spinner Jeffrey Vandersay starred with the ball, taking 6 for 33.
A big opportunity for all of us: Washington Sundar
Ahead of the must-win clash, Washington Sundar has said that the upcoming contest would prepare the Indian team for the bigger tournaments.
He stated that facing Sri Lanka's quality spin attack in spin-friendly conditions would be a big opportunity for the players to test themselves.
"This is a big opportunity for all of us to win this game as we know in such spin-friendly conditions against a quality attack, it will help us for bigger tournaments," said Washington Sundar.
This is a big opportunity for all of us to win this game as we know in such spin friendly conditions against a quality attack, it will help us for bigger tournaments.
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Speaking further, Sundar said that head coach Gautam Gambhir has also given the players a lot of input on how to deal with the spinners. The India allrounder also pointed out that Gambhir was an excellent player of spin bowling.
"A lot of inputs from Gautam Gambhir about how to counter spin in these conditions. He was an excellent player against spin. A bit of change tactically," said Sundar.
Talking about Sundar's performance in the series, he picked up 1 wicket and scored 5 runs in the first game. In the second game, the Tamil Nadu star had a better outing as he picked up 3 wickets and scored 15 runs. He will be looking to end the series on a high by doing well in the third game, scheduled to take place on Wednesday (July 7).