Analysis: India's "Second String" team Beats Sri Lanka
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Arjuna Ranatunga's "second-string team" comment on India's visiting team in Sri Lanka certainly didn't age well as India needed only 2 matches to beat Sri Lanka in a three-match series. Though it might not have been India's best team, it was good enough to beat Sri Lanka on their home turf. This is a moment of joy for the Indian team though Sri Lanka definitely needs to think about its future. Let's discuss the performances of both the teams in the first two matches.
<b><h2><center>Rahul Dravid: The Coach</b></h2></center>
This is not the first time Rahul Dravid has proved that he is one of the best coaches. He has led the Indian U-19 team to the finals of the U-19 World Cup twice and won one. He has done an excellent job as India-A's head coach as well. Now he has proved that he can lead a team as head coach at the international level as well.
<img src="https://bl6pap004files.storage.live.com/y4mehBmqWcdHyMMc4TKM2vx-u54Kn9IcqV17v_ZRZiDHWSMTcTjV6yG8Z4fDhVZSJKAP1Z3Wio22tfdYNSlFnejml2sZjX58NnkaWBF26GdR7oV9H8fACCeM-74q7In9Wl2Yw_MkTZ4wvD4hll-miEXx8U0NXzlAw6JgayXMdmuXSRl4CbXN6YNsNw6jaND1eSL?width=400&height=300&cropmode=none" width="400" height="300" />
According to reports, <a href = "https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/deepak-chahar-reveals-what-rahul-dravid-told-him-before-walking-out-to-bat-in-2nd-odi-vs-sri-lanka-101626831883065.html">Rahul Dravid advised Dhawan to send Deepak Chahar up the order in the second ODI</a>. India wasn't in the best of the positions to win the match. But Deepak Chahar's inning helped India reach the target. Shikhar Dhawan did an excellent job as a captain as well. Dhawan doesn't have a lot of experience with captaincy but he managed to bring good bowling changes and field placements.
<b><h2><center>India's Batting</b></h2></center>
Indian batsmen did very well in the first ODI match though there was a batting-order collapse in the second ODI match. In my opinion, the innings played by youngsters like <em>Prithvi Shaw and Ishan Kishan were attacking but a bit immature</em> as it didn't help them in the second ODI. Shikhar Dhawan did a good job of playing slow and steady innings to balance the things from the other side.
<em>Suryakumar Yadav did an excellent job at stabilizing the innings towards the end</em>. He played according to the situation. I also think India's team selection was good as India had enough bowling options and a deep batting line-up.
<b><h2><center>Sri Lanka's Miseries Continues</b></h2></center>
Since 2020, Sri Lanka has played 14 ODI matches and has won only 4 resulting in a low win percentage of 28.57%. Sri Lanka was once the most feared team in the world but they are struggling quite badly nowadays. There have been problems with the way Sri Lanka has been managing its team in the last 5-6 years.
<img src="https://bl6pap004files.storage.live.com/y4mfe86nZh1OkaR7Xnwd9kvuFtCj-eyGfUthvarAHnmHFNsliPsVM74C6wcK4-9D5UemfBHhVLxE2dzWxk-xx8NQJtgbZgN6xk36QMT26xQYHWPlZx4nBq95_BSr6udDmNrbgJyK7SPHuIQ-LmS1YO8OF3fJw9cSOba-YKh4-qxJGIxNwFzNwNfCmSux-9oDgcT?width=469&height=287&cropmode=none" width="469" height="287" />
Sri Lanka's mismanagement of their young players is one of the biggest reasons why the team has been in a bad form for the last 4-5 years. Sri Lanka did not give enough chances to young players when they had legends like Kumar Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, etc. in the team. When these players retired, the youngsters were made to play without experienced players to guide them properly.
<em>Another mistake that the Sri Lankan team made was not giving enough chances to new players</em> to prove their worth. Almost 35 players have debuted for Sri Lanka since 2016 and 32 have played less than 20 matches in that period even though Sri Lanka has played 100 matches in the same period.
<b><h2><center>Conclusion</b></h2></center>
Even though one ODI match is still left in the series, India has a lot of positives to take back from this series. Though I think Sri Lanka really needs to sort out its priorities. They must allow the young players to groom well. They should focus on long-term goals rather than changing teams now and then.
