After a great performance with the bat in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, it looked India would shine again but then a batting collapse saw them losing the second ODI by a huge margin of nine wickets. India, who came into the tournament with an aim of going to the zenith of the ICC ODI ratings, now have their hopes dashed as they required a whitewash over their neighbours to achieve that.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, India started off well with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but then all went haywire after Sehwag fell to Thisara Perera. Indian batting collapsed like nine pins and Gambhir’s half century was the only saving grace in the match.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka raced to the target of 139 in just 19.5 overs by losing just one wicket.
Here are some of the hits and flops of the match:
Sri Lanka:
Thisara Perera: He came into bowl the fourth over of the match. Before that Indian openers were looking in a solid touch and he took things in his hands. He took a low diving catch of his own bowling to dismiss Sehwag in the last ball of his first over. It was this wicket that marked the beginning of the collapse and India just could not recover after this. In the next over he took the wicket of all important Virat Kohli and then in the subsequent over scalped the dangerous Suresh Raina. He returned with figures of 19-3 in eight overs.
Angelo Matthews: He was Perera’s partner in crime in the last match. After an average start to the series, he complemented Thisara perfectly by claimed three wickets. Matthews was unplayable in the middle and was taking complete advantage of the wind. He returned with figures of 14-2 in seven overs.
Upul Tharanga: The stylish left-handed opener looked in supreme force and never looked intimidated by the Indian bowlers. He played some good shots and raced to his 50 in no time. He scored 59 of 60 deliveries including eight fours.
Tillakaratne Dilshan: After missing out the first, he was back to business. He registered his 10th half century against India and also completed 4000 ODI runs. He scored 50 of 49 balls which included 5 fours.
Flops:
Isuru Udana: He was playing in his debut and better performance was expected from the young man. But then he bowled a first over that he would not like to remember for long. He gave away sixteen runs in that including many extras. This over saw him being taken out of the action by his skipper and he returned back later. He ended with figures of 42 for no loss in six overs.
India:
Hits:
Gautam Gambhir: Gautam Gambhir stood like a rock when the other Indian batsman collapsed like a house of cards. He played throughout the Indian innings and was the last man to be dismissed. He scored 65 of 96 deliveries including four fours.
Flops:
Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma has been going through a very rough patch and it was a perfect opportunity for him to cash in. But then he gave his wicket playing a loose shot which saw him drag the ball on to his stumps. He returned without scoring a run.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always enjoyed a good record against Sri Lanka but then yesterday when it was required for him to perform he played a rather loose shot to a moving delivery outside the off stump to give an easy catch to Sangakkara behind the stumps.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News Network
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