Pallekele: Despite receiving some criticism for tinkering with the batting order, India are set to continue their experiments, fielding coach R Sridhar confirmed on Saturday, the eve of their third ODI against Sri Lanka.
Team India experienced a baffling middle-order meltdown in the second ODI on Thursday, after they slipped from 109-0 to 131-7, courtesy Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya, who picked up six wickets.
"Akila Dananjaya bowled brilliantly in the last game. We take that forward, and we'll make sure we won't repeat the same mistakes going forward,” said Sridhar during the pre-match press conference.
Interestingly, captain Virat Kohli, who generally comes in to bat at no. 3, demoted himself down the order, sending in the likes of KL Rahul and Kedar Jadhav ahead of himself.
"We will try out different players in different slots to get the best exposure to get the best out of each player. That's the endeavour of the team management," he added.
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was considered doubtful, as he had cramped-up during the second ODI. However, Sridhar cleared all doubts about Pandya’s availability: "On Thursday, Hardik Pandya was cramping. He's perfectly alright now. He should be ready for the next game," he concluded.
