India, playing without their captain M.S. Dhoni was outplayed totally by Sri Lanka in the 8th game of the Commonwealth bank series 2012 at the Gabba, Brisbane. India did not opt for the rotation policy as the top three were playing and also included a spinner in place of a fast bowler. This move still didn’t work as India leaked runs in the end overs as Sri Lanka managed to score 289 for the loss of 6 wickets which proved too much for Indians to chase.
India’s stand in captain, Virender Sehwag’s horror run down under continues as he threw his wicket away to a wide delivery, top edging the ball straight into third man’s hands. Sachin Tendulkar started off positively showing great touch and he along with Gambhir looked to put India back on track before the former was castled by Nuwan Kulasekara for 22. Promising innings from Sachin came to an end as he got an inside edge on to his stumps. Sri Lanka were right on top at that moment. In form Virat Kohli too started off on a confident note by playing positively. It was the turn of Gautam Gambhir to lose his wicket when India’s score read 54, guiding the ball straight into the hands of gully fielder.
Suresh Raina joined hands with Kohli and the two put India’s innings back on track with sensible batting. The two put on 92 precious runs when Suresh Raina lost his concentration and chipped an easy catch to the cover fielder. At that moment, India relied heavily on Kohli to see the team through as their regular skipper was not playing this game. India’s innings was always chasing a run rate which was climbing all the time and this got to Virat Kohli as he looked to heave the ball over the mid-on fielder but could not as he was caught easily and India’s chances faded away very quickly. Irfan Pathan cracked a few boundaries to reduce the victory margin for Sri Lanka and in the end he was the last man out for a well-made 47.
Earlier in the afternoon, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first on a hot and humid day at the Gabba. As it looked in the previous game, the wicket was plenty of runs and Sri Lankan batsmen didn’t disappoint as everyone chipped in to boost their total to a match winning one. Thirimanne and Dilshan got half centuries and there were other useful contributions from Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, and Angelo Mathews.
With this result, India slide to the bottom of the table and Sri Lanka move to second. India needs to play out of their skins to qualify for the finals from this stage. Can Dhoni’s return in the next game is the right boost for Team India? We will surely know on Feb 26th as India takes on Australia at Sydney.
