Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar
Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar believes that winning the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka will be a great opportunity for Team India to face the threat of spin in challenging conditions. It will also be very important for the team’s preparations before next year’s Champions Trophy. The Indian team is in danger of losing its first bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka in 27 years. The Indian team had to face defeat by 32 runs in the second ODI of the series. This defeat was due to the poor performance of the batsmen, who failed to face the Sri Lankan spin attack.
Speaking to the media ahead of the third ODI, Sundar said, “This is an opportunity for us to go out on the field and take responsibility and win in those difficult conditions.” He said, “Obviously we will face similar situations in the upcoming big tournaments and it will be important to find ways to do what we can to win in those difficult conditions, especially against a great spin attack in such conditions.
Sundar defends the spinners
Team India’s all-rounder said, “I think whatever we have done in this series so far, we will take it as a lesson. Obviously we will try to move forward and win the match tomorrow.” He said, “We have world class batsmen against spin, just need to find the right way.” Sundar also defended the batsmen who have failed to make an impact against spin bowling in the series so far. He said, “We are good players of spin. We have always played on such wickets, even at home, in Test matches and in different formats. Even in domestic cricket, we play a lot of matches on such wickets.” Sundar said, “And we know that many of our players have performed very well, especially batting against spin in the middle order.”
Input from coach
He said, “Everyone knows that this is a very challenging wicket. Obviously, the Indian team is always ready, especially when the challenge comes. And this is the time when we have been very good with both bat and ball, and we have come out of challenging situations. And this is what the Indian cricket team has been doing for the last several years. So I think it is the same, it has been the same situation in this series as well. It is just about finding a way individually and getting the job done.”
The 24-year-old said the team has tried to make some changes after getting inputs from head coach Gautam Gambhir. “We have got a lot of inputs from Gambhir. He has been a great player against spin. We have always seen him perform brilliantly, especially against spin on such wickets. That is why we have come here today to practice and try and make small changes strategically and be ready for tomorrow’s match and be on top of our game in all aspects,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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