The Indian cricket team defeated Sri Lanka in the second ODI match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, to take an unassailable lead in the 3-match series. The Rohit Sharma-led side put an all-around show in the game.
In the first innings, as debutant Nuwanidu Fernando and Kusal Mendis were leading Sri Lanka to make a comeback, Rohit Sharma decided to introduce spin. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, both spinners performed brilliantly and shattered the hopes of Sri Lankan batters to recover. While Kuldeep picked up three wickets in his 10 overs and Axar Patel picked up one wicket in his 5 overs while giving away runs at an economy of 3.20. India’s new bowling sensation Umran Malik also picked two wickets and Mohammed Siraj dismissed the last two batters to bundle out Sri Lanka for 215.
Later, while chasing the target, the Indian cricket team lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer inside 15 overs. However, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya brought the momentum back toward India as they stitched together 75 runs in 119 balls. KL Rahul hit a match-winning 64 for India in the 2nd ODI of a 3-match series against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata
After the game, while speaking at the post-match ceremony, Rohit Sharma said that KL Rahul batting at no.5 in the ODIs gives team India a much-needed depth. He also praised Rahul for his performance. He said:
“It was a close game but games like these teach you a lot. We had to build an innings under pressure. KL has been batting at five for a long period of time now and it gives us the depth. Gives you the confidence as well at the top of the order for us to go and bat freely. It was a good display of batsmanship.”
Further, Rohit Sharma also talked about the idea of having a left-handed batter in the middle. He said: “It’ll be nice to have a left-hander, but I don’t believe too much into it. Ideally we would like to have a left-hander, but we know the quality of the right-handers who are out there in the middle. They can tackle situations when put under pressure.”
India and Sri Lanka will now lock horns in the 3rd ODI match at Thiruvananthapuram, which will be a dead rubber. The game will be crucial for Sri Lanka, who do not have automatic qualification for the World Cup and will hope to seal 10 points in the ODI Super League. India will opt to make a few changes as hinted by captain Rohit Sharma after the game. He said:
“ We haven’t thought about it yet, once we get there we’ll have a look at the pitch and have a look at some of our guys. There are 3 ODIs coming up against New Zealand as well, so we need to keep the guys fresh. We’ve got a long season now and we need to keep everything in mind. If needed, we’ll make some changes.”
Rohit Sharma signed off by showering praise on Kuldeep Yadav for his amazing performance with the ball. He said: “For him (Kuldeep Yadav) to come back and play the game he played today, it was fantastic. Literally got us back in the game. They were batting run-a-ball and Kuldeep, as we’ve seen quite often, comes and gets the wicket. He’s quite confident as a bowler right now and it definitely augurs well with the team.”
