5 Positives Ahead Of The ODI Series For Team India Vs Sri Lanka

A clinical India thoroughly took care of business by beating a toothless Sri Lanka by 91 runs and sealing a 2-1 series win. Suryakumar Yadav and Tripathi were the chief wreckers with the bat as they took every bowler to the cleaners, while the bowlers effectively ended the contest as early as the sixth over to seal the win and the series.

Let us have a look at the talking points from the T20 series that Team India has just won, as they now focus on the India vs Sri Lanka ODI series-

1. Stupendous Surya dominated the India vs Sri Lanka series

When Hardik Pandya said that he feels discouraged by bowling to SKY in the nets, he was echoing the statement for almost all the bowlers in the world. Such was the effortless brutality from the willow of the new vice captain, that these outrageous shots have now become commonplace for fans of the men in blue.

In the 3rd T20I, he was batting on an entire different level than the rest of the Indian batters. While the rest struggled against the two faced nature of the pitch, Surya played like he was playing there all his life. This is his third hundred and all have come batting at below number 3. Surya on song is a nightmare for the bowlers in any condition.

2. Tripathi sets the tone

Looking at Rahul Tripathi, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was his maiden game. With India losing a wicket very early, Sri Lanka did smell blood and looked to go for the kill. But Tripathi walked into the crease with only one motive: smash, smash and smash some more. From the moment he set foot on the crease, he took each and every bowler apart. Maheesh Theekshana and Chamika Karunaratne bore the brunt as Tripathi’s histrionics propelled India to 55 in the powerplay. Based on this performance, Tripathi should and deserves to get a longer run in the side.

3. Axar Patel wins the Player Of The Series award

After a poor T20 World Cup in Australia, Axar Patel made a strong comeback. He won the Player Of The Series award in this 3-match T20 series. In contrast to what we had seen from him in the major tournament, Axar did way better here. It was surely his home turf with India playing at home.

Further, the India vs Sri Lanka games did not challenge him too much (there was some help for spinners). He bowled the final over of the first match that India won and helped them build some momentum right from the start. Further, he just grew from strength to strength beyond that and never looked back.

4. Promising start for new look team

This series win was a promising start for this young side. With all the senior members in the side put away, this new group under new leadership have put in a bunch of promising performances in all three games. The likes of Axar, Hooda, Tripathi, SKY with the bat have provided great platforms to bat, while Mavi and Umran provided the firepower with the ball. With the 2024 T20 World Cup the next stopping point, the early start of blooding the next crop of T20 players has begun in earnest. Long may it succeed.

5. India played the Sri Lankan spinners really well

For the first time in quite a while, Team India played the spinners really well. Some may argue that this was due to the home conditions. However, the level of comfort was just too much. Anyone who saw this 3-game series could clearly see that it was totally one-sided, though the results at time might have been close.

To add to that, the wickets taken were quite evenly distributed between the pacers and spinners. In fact, Maheesh Theekshana didn’t have a great time to be honest. He was quite literally ripped apart on occasions. So, not the best series for him for sure.