IND vs SL, 2nd T20I Review: Rohit's inhuman carnage helps India annihilate Sri Lanka

Batting looks so easy when Rohit Sharma is in this kind of form and on Friday, he absolutely slaughtered the Lankan bowlers. The interim Indian skipper blasted the joint-fastest T20I hundred off just 35 balls, which made everyone in the stadium and the dressing room go bonkers. It was a performance of the highest caliber coming from Rohit and KL Rahul, which gifted India another authoritative victory.

Winning the toss and choosing to bowl first on a flat deck, the Lankan bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Despite scoring just 26 runs in the first four overs, the scoring rate escalated dramatically in the next few overs. Rohit literally stopped picking singles and twos and boundaries were flooding at the Holkar Stadium. Few of the effortless sixes which came from the bat of the skipper were really a treat to the eye.

The catastrophe was showing no signs of culmination. Witha humongous six over midwicket, Rohit brought up his fifty in the 9th over of the game. Post this, he took just the carnage to another level, which was beyond the tolerance levels of the Islanders.He hit four sixes off Thisara Perera in the 11th over and moved to 97.

With a boundary off Mathews, he registered the fastest T20I hundred off just 35 balls. He took just 12 balls to score his second fifty. His party came to an end in the 13th over, but India already had registered 165 runs on the board at that point. Spare a thought for KL Rahul as well, who did an equally brilliant job. He played some lovely straight batted shots to get maximum results, which was worth an appreciation.

Rahul remained a spectator whilst Rohit was batting, but some top class cricketing shots were up for display from his side as well. He fell just 11 short of what would’ve been an outstanding hundred, but that doesn’t really take anything away. India registered a humongous 260 on board, which is the second team total highest overall and highest for them personally.

A good start, followed by a catastrophic collapse

Chasing 261, Sri Lanka was out of the game right from the outset. All they could do was play fearless cricket because they had nothing to lose. Thisara Perera’s men didn’t disappoint with the bat, as they took on the new ball bowlers and the spinners. There was a phase when Rohit was temporarily worried with his bowlers leaking runs so recklessly.

Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga stitched an outstanding partnership for the third wicket. Perera especially took charge of the spinners and both the wrist spinners traveled a long distance. Perera brought up his fifty in absolutely no time and though the chase was not on despite all his efforts, it seemed as though they’d bow out with respect.

But unfortunately for the Lankans, that didn’t happen. Kusal Perera lost his wicket after scoring a brilliant 77 off 37 balls and one of the greatest collapses in T20 history followed. Skipper Thisara Perera, who promoted himself to number 4, got out for a golden duck. Kuldeep was the beneficiary on both these occasions.

Upul Tharanga and Gunarantne got out very cheaply in Chahal’s next over, which meant half their side was back in the hunt. From 145/1, they got bowled out for 172 (Mathews didn’t come out to bat for the Lankans due to an injury). They lost 8 wickets in a span of 27 runs and once again, it was the Indian spinners who did the trick. The spinning duo of Kuldeep and Chahal picked up 7 wickets amongst themselves despite being a little expensive.

India registered an 88-run victory at the Holkar Stadium, which will do a world of good to their confidence before they travel to South Africa. No prizes for guessing, Rohit Sharma was awarded the man of the match for playing one of the best knocks you can ever see in T20 cricket.

Brief Scores

India: 260/5 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 118, KL Rahul 89; Thisara Perera 2/49)

Sri Lanka: 172 all out in 17.2 overs (Kusal Perera 77, Upul Tharanga 47; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/52, Kuldeep Yadav 3/52)

Player of the match: Rohit Sharma