The Indian Cricket team led by Rohit Sharma suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI match, hence losing the series by 0-2.

Earlier in the ODI series, the first match ended up in a tie and lost the second match by 32 runs. The third ODI match against Sri Lanka was played in R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 7 August, where both the team entered the stadium with a clear and sharp intention to win, while Lankan players ensured to retain their victory, whereas the Indian players wanted to win the final match against their neighboring nation.

This would be the first time in 27 years when India lost a bilateral series to the island nation. Last time India lost to Sri Lanka was under Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy and the first one was under Mohammed Azharuddin.

Sri Lanka’s unparalleled power play

Throughout the series, the Sri Lankan team had exhibited dominance, be it fast pace deliveries or run partnerships, led the team to win the series at ease. The hope of victory that was there in the first two matches for team India vanished without a trace in the third match. The defeat was brutal and shameful for the Indian team, as their winning streak came to an end. Dunith Wellalage became the master of this revered triumph for Sri Lanka, the left arm spinners and the magic of their wicket haul was effortless. Whereas Avishka Fernando’s missed century was instrumental in building the match score. Lankan players knew the Indian team’s weakness and took to their advantage as the batting order and performances were less crude and the spinners took the control of the match, diminishing their opponents and defeating them by 110 runs.

“It is a joke” says Rohit Sharma

Despite the brutal defeat, the Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma managed to keep a calm demeanor at the post ceremony interview and admitted that there were errors on their part, and there are areas where each individual needs improvement, but at the end of the day, it’s just cricket. He applauded the Sri Lanka cricket team for their astounding performances and team work. 

“We looked at the conditions and went with the combinations, there are also guys who need to be looked at and hence the changes. There are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. These things happen, a series lost is not the end of the world, you will lose an odd series here and there but it is about how you come back after the loss.” He added. 

After losing the second ODI match, Rohit Sharma said that his team would make a comeback, but the final match was anything but a comeback. 

It seemed that Indian batters weren’t serious and the fielding was a misfit, the commitment the Indian team should’ve taken, was not present. 

The slog sweeps and sweeps were a class by the Sri Lankan batters, overall the Indian team struggled during the match. Rohit Sharma didn’t hide behind the excuses and confronted their mistakes. 

ODI loss and plans ahead

Gautam Gambhir faced his first match series loss as Indian cricket team coach, the fans had high hopes with Gambhir’s arrival as head coach. However the ODI series loss is raising questions on the team’s batting performances and commitment. Ahead in September, India would play against Bangladesh in two match Test series, with the ODI loss, the Indian team would certainly return as the undefeated team as they were back in the ODI World Cup 23 and T20 World Cup 24.