Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has questioned India’s bowling plans against Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha in the second Test. He believes India had enough information and support to identify Dinusha’s weakness and use it more effectively.
Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 in Colombo as Sri Lanka managed to draw the match after being asked to follow on. Speaking on Sony Sports, Kaif said the issue was not just with captain Shubman Gill but with the entire bowling unit and coaching staff.
"Every batter has a shortcoming somewhere. You need to find where the shortcoming is. I am not talking about Gill. I am talking about the entire bowling unit and even the coaching staff. Everyone sits together and discusses that he scored a hundred in Galle, and where we can trap him when he comes now," Kaif said.
"Tactically, I agree that they attacked less, the field was opened up yesterday, and the drive ball wasn't bowled. Saransh Jain had dismissed him with that after his hundred. Mohammed Siraj had bowled a full ball, and he left it because he doesn't like playing the drive. He doesn't like playing shots there," he added.
Kaif said India’s resources made the situation even more surprising. Dinusha had already given India a clue about his weakness in the first innings, when debutant off-spinner Saransh Jain dismissed him for 103 with a fuller delivery.
"You are talking about India. It's not a club match that you got late. A video analyst is sitting, a stats person is sitting, and six or seven coaches are sitting," he added.
Kaif Questions India’s Plan Against Dinusha
Kaif also pointed out that India’s younger bowlers have limited experience of bowling deep into Test matches, especially on pitches that become different as the game goes on.
"Our modern young bowlers play very rarely on such a pitch. They don't play on the fifth day. A Test match doesn't go that long. So they also don't know how to tackle it, and we have not seen this batter," Kaif said.
However, he felt India should have had a better plan for Dinusha by the time the second Test came around.
"They haven't seen him at all. So there was a slight surprise package as well. The mistake happened in the second Test match. I can agree that you hadn't seen him in the first Test match," Kaif observed.
"In the second Test match, you won't find a single boundary with a cover drive. He has played the pull, sweep, reverse sweep, but not the cover drive."
Dinusha finished the two-Test series with 420 runs at an average of 140. His performances in Colombo, where he scored centuries in both innings, also earned him the Player of the Match award.
India won the series 1-0 after securing a 165-run victory in Galle. However, the draw in Colombo meant Gill’s side missed out on another possible World Test Championship win.
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The result also highlighted the importance of India’s upcoming WTC matches as they look to qualify for the 2027 final.
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India will then take on Australia in a five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series starting in January 2027.