Live: IND Vs SL 2nd ODI Live Scores and Commentary | 2017 Series As Rohit Sharma walked to the middle of the PCA Stadium in Mohali on a gloomy Tuesday afternoon, he stopped to have a look -- not at the covered pitch but the moisture-laden dark clouds. The 24th Indian ODI skipper has only three games to prove his leadership skills. Dharamsala was forgettable and Mohali, too, hasn’t been forgiving so far due to the inclement weather. Come Wednesday, Rohit would be hoping the weather gods are kind. A seven-wicket loss in Dharamsala has put the hosts on the back foot. Mohali is the proverbial do-or-die game and the conditions could be more challenging due to the unseasonal rain. Rohit admits that the result in the first game was an eye-opener for India, which has had an impeccable record against the Lankans. What would also be of extreme concern for him is the top order’s weakness against the moving ball. The Indian top order succumbed to the pressure created by pacers Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal and Angelo Mathews. The conditions could be tricky again in Mohali, and it will be interesting to see if Ajinkya Rahane makes it to the eleven. Rohit might consider him as a specialist opener but Rahane’s resilience and technique against pacers makes him eligible to play at No 3 as well. Add Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya’s flop-show and it seems the team management has plenty to discuss before the first ball is bowled in Mohali. Pandya scored only 10 when he needed to stay in the middle with Dhoni. He also proved ineffective and costly with the ball. Pandey too hasn’t done much to live up to his reputation. In eight games this year, he has reached 50 just once. On Tuesday, coach Ravi Shastri was seen having a chat with openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan during the indoor nets. The team think-tank knows the openers have to fire to achieve a series-levelling victory. The record favours the hosts --- they have won nine out of 14 games. But for Rohit it hardly matters as the Lankans will strike with full force in a bid to win their maiden ODI series this year. The silver lining amid the dark clouds is MS Dhoni. His 65 in Dharamsala took India past 100. Eighteen-year-old Washington Sundar --- included in the team in place of Kedar Jhadav --- also believes that Dhoni’s counter-attack worked for India. “He batted very well in tough conditions. If he had got the support of one or two batsmen, India would have scored 60-70 runs more and, I don’t think, Sri Lanka could have chased that total,” said the Tamil Nadu youngster. With the PCA conditions set to offer assistance to pacers, it will be interesting to see whether India field spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. It will also be interesting to see if local lad Siddharth Kaul is given a chance. The 27-year-old pacer has been rewarded by selectors keeping in mind his consistency in domestic cricket while playing for Punjab. “The rain was expected on Monday and Tuesday, but the weather is expected to clear by tomorrow. So, there’s not much doubt about play getting affected. The pitch and the outfield are well covered, and there aren’t any puddles. Even if there is drizzle in the morning, we are well equipped to clear the ground within half an hour,” a PCA official says. The Indian team, which practised for close to three hours in the morning, would be hoping for a clear sky and sunshine when the match gets underway. Despite the damp conditions, Mohali is not as cold as Dharamsala, where Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers, led admirably by Suranga Lakmal, ran through India. Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera believes the pitch will be good for batting. But the damp conditions in Mohali will keep Lakmal & Co. interested in another encore. Rohit Sharma, though, will have other ideas. In his first series as India captain, he would want his young team, especially the middle order, to step up and show more responsibility. Barring MS Dhoni, none of the batsmen did anything substantial in the first ODI. “We, as a team, want to thrive in these kinds of conditions and come out good,” Rohit Sharma said. “We are not always going to play on flat pitches all the time and you have to understand your game and find a way to come out from that situation. Today was not an ideal day for all our batters, but it was an eye-opener for all of us. Hopefully, in the next few games we can regroup and come out with a better batting performance,” he explained after the debacle in Dharamsala.

• published: 13 Dec 2017
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