IND vs SL: India completed the one day international tournament against Sri Lanka with a four wicket victory on Thursday. An accurate bowling effort was accompanied by some up and down batting. But they prevailed against the dangers, considering the previous history of Eden Garden.
India defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets on Thursday at Eden Gardens in the second IND vs SL ODI to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the one-day international series.
With 40 balls remaining, the Men in Blue easily reached the pitiful total of 216. But it wasn’t all a piece of cake for the hosts, as the Lions put up a valiant battle with the ball.
Significantly, it was the first decent run in a day/night ODI at Eden Gardens after 2009. The last seven matches there over a span of 14 years have all ended in advantage for the bowling team.
IND vs SL: Summary of the match
Dasun Shanaka chose to bat after winning the toss. It wasn’t enough to prevent Sri Lanka from losing their 22nd series against their most favorite opponents since 2010. The island nation had just won all three in retaliation.
After losing Avishka Fernando early on, the visitors finally stabilized thanks to newcomer Nuwanidu Fernando, who scored 50 points. They quickly collapsed, going from 102/1 to 177/8 when Kuldeep Yadav went on a three wicket rampage.
To help the team to a respectable score of 215, Dunitha Wellalage battled with a deft 32. She formed a 38-run ninth wicket partnership with Kasun Rajitha.
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In response, Rohit Sharma’s two limits and the captain’s flashy six were superbly backed by opener Shubman Gill’s barrage of limits early on.
IND vs SL Scoring Details
Sharma caught from behind by Chamika Karunaratne ended her attack. And Gill immediately followed suit after sending a straight kick straight into the fielder’s grip in the middle of the short wicket. After Lahiru Kumara knocked out Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer left the team at 86/4. He contributed significantly to 28 runs.
As KL Rahul drilled at the other end and newcomer Hardik Pandya showed tremendous composure with his 36 (53). The 75-run partnership from him finally set the stage for a solid win.
Kuldeep Yadav, who has often been exploited as a disposable item by the current Indian team management, has once again shown his ball handling prowess.
In the end, Rahul went unbeaten with a solid 64 (103), which may have opened the door for an adventurous line-up in Sunday’s final in Thiruvananthapuram in light of the upcoming World Cup on home soil later in the year.
