A loss of 7-22 wasn’t enough to derail India in the second ODI in Kandy

 

 

 

Congratulations to newly wed Akila Dananjaya had slashed India’s top half  in a shock, However With MS Dhoni to the rescue and Bhuvneshwar Kumar stepping up Team India won by 3 wickets to take the lead to 2-0 in the ODI series.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar anchored India’s chase after a stunning batting collapse as the visitors edged past Sri Lanka by three wickets in the second one-day international on Thursday.

Leg-spinner Akila Dananjaya returned career-best figures of 6-54 to make India stutter at 7-131 while chasing a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of 231 in 47 overs in Pallekele.

Dhoni, who scored 45, then put on an unbeaten 100-run stand with Kumar, who made 53, to steer the team home in 44.2 overs and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

“Quite an exciting game of cricket … Something that gave us a tough test but good to come through eventually,” India skipper Virat Kohli said at the presentation.

The diminutive spinner wrecked the innings Dananjaya, capturing six wickets in the space of 20 deliveries to leave India, chasing a revised target of 231 off 47 over after a rain delay, in disarray.

India were reduced to 131 for seven after Dananjaya’s triple strike in an over before Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45 no) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (53 no) put on a 100-run eighth wicket partnership to take the team to a tense three-wicket win for a 2-0 series lead.

Dananjaya, who bowls a mix of off-spin, straighter ones, leg-breaks and googlies in an island famous for its unorthodox bowlers, stole the thunder, flummoxing the Indian batsmen mainly with his googly. He finished with a career-best 6/54.

India reached 231 for 7 in 44.2 overs.

Opener Rohit Sharma (54) hit his fastest ODI half-century off 43 balls and with Shikhar Dhawan (49) had raised 109 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 236/8 when Dananjaya, who came on in the 12th over, struck.

Dananjaya first trapped Rohit Sharma with a leg-break. He claimed five of his first six wickets bowled or leg before. Sri Lankan fans, dismayed by their team’s poor run, erupted in joy as the diminutive spinner took off after each strike chased by delirious teammates.

The Indian collapse began after skipper Virat Kohli, deciding to give later batsmen useful batting time, sent KL Rahul at No 3. But the experiment turned into a test against an unknown kind.

Rohit Sharma was sent his way after a failed review, indicating he was done in by a leg-break. Shikhar Dhawan was gone next over, 17th of the innings, after his uppish sweep off left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana was caught brilliantly by Angelo Mathews at square leg.

Dananjaya broke the back of the Indian batting in nine deliveries, after claiming three in the 18th over.

He first bowled Kedar Jadhav (1) with a googly. Two balls later, he stunned skipper Virat Kohli (4) with another pefect googly that went between bat and pad to hit the stumps.

India, who had faced little challenge all tour, showed some panic. And two balls later, KL Rahul too was bowled off a googly. It was like how Indian batsmen were caught out by Ajantha Mendis almost a decade ago.

Hardik Pandiya was stumped next, also beaten by a googly, while Axar Patel was trapped by a straighter one. India were 131 for seven off 21.4 overs.

Dhoni, who must have faced Dananjaya in the Chennai Super Kings nets, picked him better. And once he was off the attack after bowling eight overs, Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar settled down to take India past 200.

With both batsmen set, and Danajaya looking tired coming on to bowl his last two overs, the battle was settled.

BUMRAH SHOW

India seemed to script a similar win to the nine-wicket effort in Dambulla when pacer Jasprit Bumrah claimed 4/43 and leg-spinner Yuzhvendra Chahal two for 43 after Virat Kohli won his fifth toss in a row, electing to bowl.

Sri Lanka’s set openers Niroshan Dickwella (31) and Dhanushka Gunathilaka (19) fell to Bumrah and Chahal respectively to undermine their batting. They owed the total to Milinda Siriwardana, who top-scored with 58 (58 b, 2×4, 1×6). He was one of the three changes made in the side, Dananjaya and pacer Dushmantha Chameera being the others.

 

The third match is scheduled for Sunday at the same venue.

 

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