Spinners prove their worth, Shreyas Iyer makes claim for No 4: Vizag ODI talking points

Opener Shikhar Dhawan’s blazing century and a decisive spell by wrist spinners powered India to a series-clinching eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third One Day International on Sunday.

Chasing 216 for victory, India rode on a 135-run partnership between Dhawan (100 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (65) to romp home in 32.1 overs in Visakhapatnam.

Here’s a look at the key talking points from Sunday’s decider:

Spin twins and the successful experiment

It was only in August that the national selectors and Indian team management surprised many by ‘resting’ regular spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and picked Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the ODI team. It was then called an experiment, made to give their regular players time to recuperate after a long season.

On Sunday, in the last ODI of the season, Kuldeep and Chahal produced a stellar show in a crunch situation. Not only did their performance help India win the series against Sri Lanka, but it was also a successful conclusion to an experiment that, incidentally, took root against Sri Lanka four months ago.

On Sunday, the chinaman-leg spin combination wreaked havoc in the Sri Lanka middle-order. The visitors were going strong as opener Upul Tharanga and Sadeera Samarawickrama pieced together a 121-run partnership for the second wicket. The former was nearing his hundred and Sri Lanka were primed for a big total. India pacers had looked bereft of ideas till that juncture. The Rohit Sharma-led team was staring at a possibility of chasing a mammoth total in what was the series decider.

It was then that the spin twins got into their act. Chahal gave India the breakthrough. The leg-spinner induced Sadeera to sky the ball against the run of play, before Shikhar Dhawan complete an easy catch. Kuldeep soon stepped up and had Tharanga stumped. He drew him out of his crease just enough for the quickfire hands of wicket-keeper MS Dhoni to dislodge the bails.

The two scalps triggered a batting collapse that turned the tide of the game completely in India’s favour. Sri Lanka went from 136/2 to be bowled out for 215. Kuldeep and Chahal finished with three wickets apiece, handing India straightforward go at clinching their eighth consecutive series win.

Dhawan mania

Dhawan was in his element on Sunday. Opening alongside Rohit, the Delhi batsman looked to attack the Sri Lankan bowlers from the get go. The visitors had introduced spin from the start. The ploy seemed to have worked as Rohit fell early after being bamboozled by the spin of Akila Dhananjaya. Dhawan, though, seemed unfazed by the early blow. He batted with intent, using his feet and targetting the gaps.

His 135-run partnership with young Shreyas Iyer helped snuff out all hopes of a Sri Lankan fightback. But, it was the disdain with which he treated the bowlers that killed all confidence of the visitors, who were left to rue their missed opportunities.

Dhawan, who had been under-fire for much of last year, has consistently produced eye-catching knocks. His effortless style has helped him not only secure his spot in the highly-competitive Indian team, but has given the team an exuberant batsman, who doesn’t shy away from taking the attack to the opposition bowlers.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka had their tail up after Rohit’s departure. They were going all out with Dhananjaya actively looking to bowl the wicket-taking deliveries. It was juncture in the game that had the potential to trigger a collapse that had occured to the visitors earlier in the day.

Instead of cowing down and blocking through the initial storm, Dhawan hit back with a storm of his own. He bettered his half-century performance from Mohali to notch up his 12th ODI ton. It was, in fact, his race to the 100 that added some spice to the otherwise easy chase for India. With only a few runs left to achieve victory, Dhawan started dealing in boundaries. The ease at which he achieved this, encapsulated the mastery of his craft.

He stood till the end, giving India a strong finish in a series that had started disastrously in Dharamsala.

Shreyas makes claim for No 4 spot

For the second game running, Shreyas was up to the task given to him by his team. Filling the big shoes of Virat Kohli, the Mumbai batsman batted with ease.

Speaking after the game, Rohit said, the batsman came into the side like he belonged there. Shreyas batted exactly as per Rohit’s description. He came in after his skipper had perished. Sri Lanka, desperate for a reversal in fortunes, had employed spin early on. He took a leaf out of his partner’s book and went on the offensive as soon as he came into the middle. It wasn’t long before he had notched up his half-century, his second in as many games.

What stood out about his innings was that he hardly took time to settle down. In fact, he upstaged Dhawan when it came to accelerating the runs. This is an aspect of Kohli’s game that one feared will be missed in this series, but Shreyas made it a smooth transition.

Kohli, though, is soon to come back, leaving the talented Shreyas on the bench. However, his performances in the two games have raised calls for a larger role for the batsman.

On Sunday, Shreyas made a strong claim for the No 4 slot, which has yet to been secured by most who have been tried out for it. India have tried the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav in the spot. However, all three of them have yet to put in a performance worthy of cementing the crucial spot.

While, Shreyas has not been tested in the spot, he gave a good account what he is capable of on Sunday. Despite batting in the top-order, Shreyas was given a stern test of spin. He negotiated it with ease. In fact, he dominated the likes of Dhananjaya, to negate the threat completely. It is a huge asset for a No 4 batsman in India.

He has strength on his side, which was evident in his shot-making on Sunday. The number of shots at his disposal was also impressive. His strike rate was high from early and it looks like he is comfortable batting with that intensity from the start.

It is a style of batting that is practiced by Kohli and one that is prescribed to most in the team. Shreyas fits the bill.

He, however, has a lot to work on in his batting, especially his inability to convert 50s into 100s. Like Mohali he threw away his wicket in Vizag as well. The ton was up for the taking on Sunday, but he could not alter his batting style despite his team comfortably placed. Time will tell how he handles these challenges, for now it appears he could be a viable fit in the No 4 slot.