‘Was It a Shock?’: India Assistant Coach & Gambhir’s Right Hand Man Breaks Silence on ODI Loss to SL

The beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era in the ODIs has been underwhelming as India failed to prevail against Sri Lanka at Colombo. While batting second, team India failed to reach the target and were bowled out, courtesy of their batting collapse after Rohit Sharma's outing. The Indian side has struggled in Colombo so far as the tracks have not turned in their favour. Amid the ODI fallout, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has spoken out on the team's loss in the 2nd ODI match.

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Abhishek Nayar Highlights Upon Team India’s Loss in 2nd ODI vs Sri Lanka

Team India proved frail after skipper Rohit Sharma lost his wicket, resulting in a stunning collapse. The hitters failed to maintain their stance, and Jeffrey Vandersay, the lead spinner who replaced Wanidu Hasaranga, took six wickets against the T20 World Cup champions. In the post-match media scrum, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar attempted to provide an explanation for India's surprising defeat in the second ODI match in Colombo.

"Was it a shock? I would say yes, there is a surprise. 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," Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said.

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India was chasing 241 on a pitch that aided the spinners, and they finished at 208 all out in 42.2 overs. In the last game, the Indian batters, with the exception of skipper Rohit Sharma, underperformed. Team India batted second and appeared to be struggling both times. The Men in Blue have a chance to level the series as there is a third ODI match in place, where India will aim to secure a win to draw the series.