The 2nd ODI between India and SriLanka ended a while back. After the tense finish I was happy that India had won the match. However after a short while I began thinking that it was not India who had won but Srilanka who had lost.
India were a bit overconfident going in the match because the Lankans did not put up any fight in the 1st ODI. They went in the match thinking it had been won. India played poorly and there are no second thoughts on that. They scored 256 when they should have had atleast 300. Yuvraj and Sachin got rough decisions but the dismissals of well set Sehwag and Raina were not befitting the class of these players.
SriLankan chase started poorly and they lost 3 quick wickets. Mahela and Kandambi then went about repairing the innings and this is where the Lankans lost the initiative. They allowed part timers like Sehwag and Raina to bowl with economy rate of less than 5. This allowed Dhoni to continue with them and he could then use Ishant and Zaheer in the last 10 overs. The SriLankans lost because they did not take the initiative against the 3 part timers.
India would definitely have learned a lesson. Dhoni talked about mistakes in the post match interview. I hope that they learn from them and are able to beat an below par SriLankan team more comprehensively.
