Gautam Gambhir Helps Indian Team Tackle Sri Lanka’s Spin Attack, Says Washington Sundar

Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 6: Ahead of India’s third ODI against Sri Lanka, all-rounder Washington Sundar shared that head coach Gautam Gambhir has provided valuable advice to handle Sri Lanka’s spin bowlers.

Throughout the ODI series, Sri Lanka’s spinners have been a major challenge for India. In the first match, which ended in a draw, Sri Lankan spinners took nine wickets, limiting India to 230 runs. In the second ODI, leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay’s six-wicket haul and skipper Charith Asalanka’s three wickets left India struggling.

With India trailing 1-0 in the series, Sundar mentioned that Gambhir has been instrumental in offering strategies to counter the spin threat. Sundar said, “There’s been a lot of inputs from [Gambhir]. He’s a high-quality player of spin. We’ve always seen him putting up great performances on such wickets, especially against quality spin bowling. That’s one of the reasons we came out here today to practice, to try and find a way to do those little things tactically. We are really prepared to be on top of the game in all aspects tomorrow.”

In the series, India’s middle order has struggled, relying heavily on skipper Rohit Sharma’s strong starts and Axar Patel’s contributions at the end. Additionally, India has found it difficult to dismiss Sri Lanka’s lower-order batsmen, particularly Dunith Wellalage, who scored an unbeaten 67 in the first ODI and played a crucial role in the second match.

Sundar added, “We’d love to get them out for 200 or less than that. We had them in that situation in both matches. With big tournaments coming up, we’ll be in similar situations, and it’s an opportunity for us to find a way to get the job done in crunch situations. We just need to put our hands up and win those critical situations in the game.”

India aims to level the series in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.