West Indies tri-series 2013: Five reasons why India lost against Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka exacted their revenge for the Champions Trophy defeat they suffered at the hands of India in the semifinals. Put into bat by stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga put up a massive opening stand of 213 runs that spurred Sri Lanka to a total of 348.

Upul Tharanga, who is making a return to this Sri Lankan side due to the absence of Tillakaratne Dilshan, went on to score 174 runs and was declared man-of-the-match. India looked lacklustre in the field, and the bowling department failed to extract anything from the pitch after the captain decided he wanted to make first use of the conditions.

The batting line-up was expected to put up a fight in spite of the heavy total but went into a shell in the first 10 overs, and after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, virtually conceded defeat.

India have now lost two consecutive games in the triangular series and still don’t have any points on the board which leaves them with a very hard task at hand. They will need to win both their games and if the permutations and combinations don’t go their way, they might need to win one with a bonus point.

The results show that the game of cricket can be a great leveler as this side was tormenting the oppositions in England with ease. However, these results, though a cause for concern, should not create a panic attack.

Here are a number of factors which contributed to India’s defeat:

5. Fatigue

It was hardly a week after the Champions Trophy triumph that the Indian side was thrown into yet another competitive event. These Indian players have been playing for a long time now, from the Indian Premier League to the Champions Trophy, to now the tri-series, going across the world without much break.

The body language in the match against Sri Lanka was a clear indication of the fact that their bodies needed rest. The burnout will not only hurt India in the long run as players become prone to injuries, it will also add to their worries regarding the fast-bowling department.

We have seen how some quality bowlers have suffered burnouts and faded away. India must not allow the same to happen to this set of players.

4. Lack of motivation

There can be no bigger motivation than playing for India, and while all that may be true in essence, one has to accommodate the fact that the taste of victory is something that needs to be relished. India had to haste to the Caribbean without any such luxurious celebration of their achievement. Moreover, the selectors chose an unchanged squad for no particular reason.

A new bunch of players might have come to the triangular series with a greater purpose. They would have energized this side as they would have displayed appetite on the field while trying to establish themselves in the side. It would also give India a lot more options for the future. Players like Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav could have easily been rested.

3. Toothless bowling

One wonders why India fielded the same XI that played in the Champions Trophy fixtures in the first match against the West Indies and made radical changes to the side in the next game. Probably they backed themselves to grab a win against the West Indies in the first match with a full strength side but that plan failed.

They introduced Shami Ahmed into the side in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar while Murali Vijay came in place of injured MS Dhoni. Without the early breakthroughs that Kumar consistently delivered for India, the bowling attack looked toothless. Umesh Yadav loses his composure when he is taken for runs and Shami Ahmed relies excessively on his pace.

The wickets did not offer much, but that was not excuse enough for the performance they delivered. It did not help that India’s fielding was miserable.

2. Top order failure

The chase was going to be a massive task, but the conditions were not too bad for batting and India have done it in the past. They conceded the match without putting up a fight, giving away a bonus point in the process, and that was disappointing.

India had two genuine openers in the side, but they chose to stick with the successful opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Rohit Sharma is doing just enough to retain his place in this side, and while his recent performances have been admirable he needs to be a lot more consistent.

Virat Kohli was displaced from his usual number three position by Murali VIjay but that move did not work. As the best batsman in this Indian side, Kohli’s success was critical for the chase, and his dismissal was the final nail in the coffin for India.

1. India missed MS Dhoni

Though it is not a judgment on the leadership abilities of Virat Kohli, one wonders if the fate of the game would have been any different with MS Dhoni in charge.

The partnership between Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene could have been broken with imaginative field settings and inspired bowling changes but we got very little of that from Kohli. He did throw everything on the batsman but it takes a little more than that.

Moreover, MS Dhoni’s explosive batting ability lower down the order absorbs a lot of pressure of the top order. It will be interesting to see how India take this campaign forward as a few more defeats can be hampering for the team’s morale.