Defeat against Sri Lanka a good wake-up call, says Sunil Gavaskar

India’s inability to negotiate the seaming conditions at Pune led to their downfall after bundling out for 101 against an untested Sri Lanka side, which included two debutants. Sunil Gavaskar opined that the batsman should have shown more respect to the bowlers before going hammer and tongs.

"If you see India had lost two wickets in the first over and then Shikhar Dhawan got out trying to play a hoick for a six when in the same over we have had Suresh Raina hitting a six and a boundary, so there were enough runs scored in that over. And what India really need to think was the fact that this new attack of Sri Lanka they haven't really seen it. You might see videos but when you are playing them for the first time it's just that little bit difficult," he said.

"These guys were bowling well, pitching the ball on a good length, getting the ball to move around. So, maybe a little bit of caution was called for particularly after India lost their first two wickets in the first over and maybe given the bowlers just that little bit more respect, then they could have got 30-40 runs which could have made the difference," Gavaskar told NDTV.

India came to the series on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of Australia down under, and the former Indian captain was of the view that it was a good wake-up call for the Men in Blue, who are still suffering from “hangover from playing in Australia.”

"I think there was a bit of a hangover of playing in Australia where you play a little bit on the up and don't really lean into the drive which is what was needed on a surface like this. I don't think it was an impossible pitch to bat on, I think there was just a little bit of movement which is what you would get even on a grass-less pitch, particularly when you play at 7.30 in the evening the dew will make the ball move around just that little bit," Gavaskar said.

"My honest advice now is that it's a very, very good wake-up call for the Indians having seen what the Sri Lankans can do. They should be better prepared for the remaining two matches," Gavaskar added.

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