India Beat Sri Lanka – 2nd match Zimbabwe Triangular Series
India made a resounding comeback after their upset defeat at the hand of hosts Zimbabwe, as they outplayed Sri Lanka in the second match of the tri-series tournament.
The match, played under overcast conditions at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, was India’s for the taking after they had restricted the Sri Lankans, who chose to bat first, to an under-par total.
The Lankans, missing the seasoned trio of Captain Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene, struggled to cope with the slowness in the track and the accuracy of the Indian pace and their swing-based bowling attack.
After the early loss of opener Upul Tharanga due to a mix-up with Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Lankans struggled to break free.
The lack of runs finally took its toll on the veteran Thilan Samaraweera, who was dismissed when trying to loft left arm spinner Ojha into the stands.
The right-hander missed the ball completely and was neatly stumped by wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.
Dilshan then joined hands with all-rounder Angelo Matthews and the duo went about the task of repairing the early damage, amid attempts of scoring some much needed runs.
Dilshan stroked a majestic six that sailed over long-on, but was dismissed in the 25th over after contributing 61 runs (off 84 balls.)
He was run out after attempting a risky run, and his departure meant that runs became increasingly difficult to come by.
Kapugedera fell for a painstaking 20, while LPC Silva was dismissed for only 5 runs.
Perera struck some lusty blows in his 32 run knock, but it was too little too late. Mathews also gave in after a well made 75, as the Lankans limped to a modest total of 242 in the allotted 50 overs, with an overall run-rate of 4.85 runs per over.
Dinda, Ojha and Jadeja claimed two wickets each for the Indians, while Yadav captured one wicket.
The Indian response was scratchy too, and within the first ten overs the openers Vijay and Dinesh Karthik had returned to the pavilion with only 47 runs on the board.
At this juncture, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma joined hands with a magnificent partnership that brought the Indians back in the game.
The two right-handers batted with a great deal of intelligence and confidence to milk the Sri Lankan bowlers without taking any extravagant risks.
Steadily they chipped away at the target, before opening their shoulders and playing some delightful shots to appease the small crowd.
Kohli completed his half century, and went on to score 82 runs in the 159 run third wicket stand with Sharma.
Kohli’s innings was brought to an end by spinner Randiv, as he was snapped by Fernando in the outfield.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma completed his second ton on the trot, to ensure that his team coasts home with ease.
Sharma’s 101 came off 100 balls and included two sixes and six fours. The Indians coasted home in the 44th over of the innings, with seven wickets to spare.
Skipper Suresh Raina remained unbeaten at 24 runs. His innings included three fours.
With the win, India joins Zimbabwe at the points-table with four points each, while the Sri Lankans are yet to open their account.
Rohit Sharma was named man of the match, and the right-hander was happy at his brilliant form.
"Always nice getting hundreds in consecutive matches. It’s not the end of the world for me; I have a long way to go. Boys played really well, right from the start. This wicket was really nice to bat on, still a bit on the slower side. We knew if we got one big partnership, we would get the target." (CricHotLine.com / webindia123.com)
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan blamed the benign nature of the wicket, which made the target easier than it actually was: "We had to bowl in the right areas; we needed to take half chances because we had only 240, but it went wrong with the bat, couple of run-outs and then untimely wickets. I tried to bring the fielders up to prevent easy singles, but there was nothing in the wicket."
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