SL vs IND 2024: Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd ODI - Who Said What?

Sri Lanka wonderfully came from behind on both instances yet again, both in the first halves of their batting and bowling innings, to script a famous 32-run win against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. The first game ended in a tie between the two teams. 

Sri Lanka once again won the toss and, as in the first ODI, chose to bat first. Pathum Nissanka, who had scored a half-century in the previous game, was dismissed for a golden duck. The initial partnership aimed to rebuild, but Kusal Mendis was dismissed for 40. Subsequently, the hosts faltered in the middle overs as the spinners seized control, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 136/6 in the 35th over.

Nevertheless, Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis orchestrated a revival, with scores of 39 and 40 respectively, propelling the hosts to a total of 240. The spinners, particularly Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, were the principal architects of the collapse, securing four wickets while conceding merely 63 runs across their combined 20 overs.

It was a blistering and marauding start provided by Rohit Sharma yet again as he raced onto his fifty in 29 deliveries in no time within the powerplay to push the hosts on the back foot from the get-go. India’s prospects seemed promising until Jeffrey Vandersay entered the fray and unleashed unprecedented havoc. Claiming not one, not two, but a staggering six wickets, Vandersay decimated the batting lineup and emerged as the standout bowler of the day. His exceptional performance saw the entire top and middle order succumb to his brilliance.

Starts galore but Sri Lankan batting order falls flat yet again

The innings was marked by two scores in the 40s, two in the 30s, and a pair of 10s, as none of the Sri Lankan batters could convert their promising starts into substantial contributions. The innings was characterized by a series of false starts, a primary reason for their ending up with a merely adequate total rather than a more commanding score.

Kuldeep serves up yet another spell of frugal brilliance

It was an encore of his performance from the first ODI, as the astute wrist-spinner delivered another miserly spell. He secured one more wicket than in the previous match while conceding precisely the same number of runs (33).

Vandersay shines in glowing ODI return

The 34-year-old leg-spinner dominated proceedings from the moment he entered the fray in the 12th over, systematically dismantling the formidable Indian batting lineup. The Indian batsmen were rendered helpless against his craftiness, unable to decipher his deliveries on his ODI comeback after an absence since January. He ultimately delivered his finest ODI performance to date, concluding with exceptional figures of 6/33 for his full allocation of overs.

Losing skipper, Rohit Sharma

When you lose a game, everything hurts. It's not just about those 10 overs. You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that today. Little disappointed but these things happen. You got to adapt what's in front of you. With left-right, we felt it'll be easier to rotate strike. Credit to Jeffrey, he got six wickets. The reason I got 65 is because of the way I batted. When I am batting like that, there's a lot of risks taken. If you don't cross the line, you always feel disappointed. I don't want to compromise on my intent. We understand nature of this surface, it gets really tough in the middle overs. You have to try to get as many as possible in the powerplay. We weren't good enough. Don't want to look too much into how we played. But there'll be talks about our batting in the middle overs.

Winning skipper, Charith Asalanka

I was pretty with the score. 240 was good enough. As a captain, these kind of problems (plenty of spin options) I need to have. It was an unbelievable spell by him (Vandersay). They were more than 90 runs when he came in to bowl. I am mainly a batter, I have to score runs. After that I can bowl a few overs.

Player of the Match, Jeffrey Vandersay

There was a lot of pressure coming into the side. I am coming out of a layoff. I had to something and it is easier to take credit. I want to give credit to the batters as well. They put on 240 runs and that helped me to bowl in good areas. Hasaranga is out No. 1 spinner. I got to understand the atmosphere of the team and team balance. I have to keep pushing myself. There was assistance in the wicket, I was trying to hit the good areas. Once I got my first wicket, that built up my confidence. Fortunately, I was able to take six wickets.