Match Details
8:47 PM IST | So with that, India beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets to seal the series with a game in hand. The hosts have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series!
Earlier in the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first. Sri Lankan openers Avishka Fernando and debutant Nuwanidu Fernando added 29 runs for the first. It was again Mohammed Siraj who gave India the first breakthrough dismissing Avishka (20 off 17) in the sixth over. Then Nuwanidu was joined by Kusal Mendis, stitching 73 runs for the second wicket.
When all looked bleak for India, it was Kuldeep Yadav who, on his comeback, broke the partnership with the wicket of Mendis (34 off 34) through a top spinner. And this is where the game turned on its head as the Lankan batting order collapsed. In the process, Nuwanidu became the sixth Lankan batter to score a debut ODI fifty. Soon after his half-century, Nuwanidu (50 off 63) was run-out, thanks to the miscommunication between him and Charith Asalanka.
The visitors lost wickets in clusters and were bundled out for just 215 in 39.4 overs. While the middle order didn’t contribute much, the lower order consisting of Wanindu Hasaranga (21 off 17), Dunith Wellalage (32 off 34), Chamika Karunaratne (17 off 25) and Kasun Rajitha (17* off 21) played some handy cameos to take the team’s total above 200.
From India’s point of view, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were the successful bowlers with figures of 10-0-51-3 and 5.4-0-30-3, respectively. While Umran Malik scalped two wickets, Axar Patel got one wicket.
Chasing 216 runs to win, the Men in Blue got off to a brisk start of 33 runs inside five overs. But both Rohit Sharma (17 off 21) and Shubman Gill (21 off 12) got out in the span of four deliveries as the Island nation reduced the home side to 41/2.
Sri Lanka continued to squeeze India and got rid of Virat Kohli (4 off 9) and Shreyas Iyer (28 off 33). While Kohli was undone by Lahiru Kumara’s nip backer in the 10th over, Shreyas was trapped infront of the stumps by Kasun Rajitha in the 15th over.
At 86/4, it looked like India was on the back foot, but a fight-back partnership of 75 runs for the fifth wicket between KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya brought the match back to India’s court. It was Chamika Karunaratne who brought the Lankans back in the game with the wicket of Hardik (36 off 53) in the 34th over.
Then Axar Patel and Rahul added 30 runs for the sixth wicket, but Axar (21 off 21) holed out at long-off in the bowling of Dhananjaya de Silva. KL Rahul played responsibly for his 64 off 103 deliveries under pressure and took India home alongside Kuldeep Yadav (10 off 10) as the hosts chased down the target with 40 balls left.
For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne picked two wickets each, while Kasun Rajitha and Dhananjaya de Silva scalped a wicket each.
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