Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd ODI, Pallekele : 5 Talking Points

Sri Lanka had their task cut out to remain alive in the 5-match series post their humiliating loss in the 1st ODI at Dambulla. The focus then shifted to Pallekele where the second ODI was scheduled to be hosted. Virat Kohli continued his winning streak even with the toss as India won the fifth consecutive one on the tour. Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first as Sri Lanka struggled through the majority of their inning. Sri Lanka crawled towards 236 by losing 8 wickets with the help of important knocks from Siriwardena and Kapugedera.The hosts found Bumrah too hot to handle as he picked up a four wicket haul. Indians look in no spot of bother in their chase as the openers made merry of the conditions. It all changed after the introduction of rookie off-spinner Dhananjaya who turned the match on its head with help of his six wickets. However, Bhuvi and MS Dhoni held their nerves, taking the side towards victory. India won the match by a couple of wickets by DLS method and Dhananjaya was adjudged as the man of the match for his magical spell. Here are the five talking points of the match 1. Siriwardena-Kapugedera partnership (Photo credit should read LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) After getting a solid start from their openers Niroshan Dickwella and Dhanushka Gunathilaka, the Sri Lankans were reduced to 121-5 from 70-1. Yet again, it was a similar tale from Dambulla where the Lankans lost wickets in clumps to give away their momentum. Dickwella and Gunathilaka literally gave their wickets away by soft dismissals while Tharanga, Mendis and Matthews were victims of the pressure applied by the Indian bowlers. However, Chamara Kapugedera and Milinda Siriwardena steadied the Lanka ship and forged a vital partnership of 91 runs off 99 balls. Siriwardena brought up his second half century in his ODI career as he was dismissed for a run a ball 58(2×4,1×4) while trying to accelerate during the death overs. Kapugedera contributed 40 runs to the total. 2. Jasprit Bumrah spell Indian cricketer Jasprit Bumrah celebrates after he dismissed Sri Lankan cricketer Niroshan Dickwella. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers as far as Indian bowling is concerned. He picked up the wicket of Dickwella, looking in ominous touch, up front as he outfoxed the left hander who was trying to give room to himself to smash the ball over the covers. Bumrah, being the street smart bowler he is, followed Dickwella and the southpaw ended up spooning a simple catch to Dhawan placed at midwicket. He came back and broke the Sirwardena-Kapudegera partnership to fizzle out any Sri Lankan hope of reaching 250-260. In his 10 overs, he gave away just 43 runs and ended up with four wickets. 3. Rohit-Dhawan show Indian batsman Rohit Sharma. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) The famous Indian limited-over opening pair, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, treated us with yet another magnificent yet dominating partnership, full of effortless strokeplay. The duo brought their 11th hundred partnership in ODI cricket, only behind the iconic opening pairs of Sachin-Sehwag and Sachin-Ganguly. Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant 45 ball 54, at a strike rate of 120, smashing 5 fours and 3 sixes. Shikhar Dhawan continued his silky touch he found off-late as he missed out on a half-century by just a single run. India looked all set towards yet another thumping victory when two were at the crease. 4. Dhananjaya bamboozle India Akila Dananjaya. (Photo Source: Twitter) As mentioned before, India looked absolutely supreme at one point of time with the score at 109-0 in the 16th over. However, it all changed after the introduction of rookie spinner Akila Dhananjaya. Indians had no answer to the googlies and off-spin of the young spinner who bamboozled all the great names in the lineup. India could add only 22 runs as they lost seven of their best batsman. Dhananjaya bowled a dream spell of eight overs in which he conceded only 39 runs and claimed six quick wickets. He cleaned up Jadhav, Kohli, and Rahul while caught Rohit and Axar in front of the wickets. Siriwardena also cashed in with a wicket providing able support to the right hander at the other end. 5. Bhuvi saves day-Mahi way MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images) India was in tatters and staring at a massive defeat against the underdogs. All the big names in the lineup were back to the pavilion except one man named MS Dhoni who kept losing partners at the other end. After Dhananjaya wrecked havoc and saw the back of Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked in to bat with immense pressure on his shoulder. Against all odds, the two batsmen withered the storm and milked singles while looking in comfort. The duo saw India through with their record breaking unbeaten partnership of 100 of 135 balls (highest eighth wicket partnership for India). Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought up his maiden half century, thanks to his watchful knock of 53 off 80 balls (4×1,1×6). Meanwhile, MS Dhoni at the other end seemed calmed and composed, ensuring that there were no further hiccups in the Indian reply. In the end, India sealed the match with a couple of wickets by DLS Method.

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Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd ODI, Pallekele : 5 Talking Points

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