After suffering a crushing defeat against Sri Lanka on Sunday in the first one day international of the three-match series, India aims to return to ways when the two sides face-off at the Punjab Cricket Association's IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka, who finally managed to beat India in 13 attempts across formats this year, eased to a seven-wicket victory after bowling the hosts out for a paltry 112. Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again proved his worth in the 50-over format with a gutsy half-century after India were reduced to 29/7.
Photo: BCCI
The embarrassing loss in the series opener was an eye-opener for the men-in-blue, who are expected to face similar conditions when they land in South Africa later this month. While Mohali may not be as cold as Dharamsala, the pacers could still have a say in the second match, considering it is another 11.30 a.m. start to the day-night affair. In such a scenario, Rohit Sharma's men will need to pull up their socks and learn from the mistakes of the first match, where the top order fell like ninepins.
Moreover, the exclusion of the experienced Ajinkya Rahane in the playing XI without regular skipper Virat Kohli, also raised questions on the team management's strategy in the opening game.
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Also read, India Today's live blog on the match.