Team India arrived in Rajkot for the final and deciding T20 against Sri Lanka to be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday. The members of the Hardik Pandya-led side were accorded a warm welcome as they made their way to their hotel.
The Men in Blue will look to pick up pieces from the hammering of previous night even as the Indian top-order itches to put in a meaningful performance in the decider. After eking out a narrow last-ball win in the opener, India fell short by 16-run as Sri Lanka levelled the three-match series 1-1.
Inconsistency of a young attack
The inconsistency of a young attack was one of the reasons for the defeat but going forward Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi will know that it was a great learning experience for them. They erred in their lines and didn't always bowl the fuller length, making the Sri Lankan batters’ job easy to guide the pace of the short pitched stuff.
Need to get basics right
The Indian bowling unit bled runs with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who returned to the playing XI after a spell of injuries, bowling as many as five no balls in his two overs. He stepped over the line three times on the trot in his first over, making him the first India bowler to bowl hat-trick of no-balls in T20I. Mavi, who made a sensational T20I debut in the opening game and Arshdeep Singh added to the no ball count as they too missed the trick with skipper Hardik Pandya, who had to rely on his spinners, lamenting that the team needs to get its basics right.
Rahul Dravid backs youngsters
But the youngsters in the team are expected more chances as they gather valuable experience. "The young kids will have games like this at times, and I think we all need to be patient with them, (but) we need to be understanding that games like this can't happen," head coach Rahul Dravid said. "I think as they're learning, it's tough. It's not easy learning in international cricket. You have to learn on the job. I think we're going to have to have a little bit of patience with these guys," he added.
