India v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, 2017 - 5 Talking Points

After being stumped in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, it was India’s chance to turn the tables in their favour in the second game. The crowd at Mohali was in for a run-feast as Rohit Sharma went berserk with the willow to register his third double-century in the 50-over format and youngster, Shreyas Iyer brought up his maiden half-century. Sri Lankans were rusty with their bowling as they looked hapless at the face of the explosive batting from India.

The Sri Lanka batting looked unimpressive for the most part, barring the gritty century from Angelo Matthews (111*). However, it was hardly enough to get Sri Lanka in the ballpark of the target. India eventually won the match by a staggering margin of 141 runs, levelling the series at 1-1.

1. Shikhar Dhawan’s dazzling start

After the unceremonious failure in the first ODI, the swashbuckling Indian opener, Shikhar Dhawan redeemed himself with panache as he registered 68 valuable runs on the scoreboard next to his name. It was his 115-run partnership with Rohit that helped the Indian innings to congeal into an insurmountable mountain for the opposition to scale. Dhawan played with his usual aura of confidence and fluent ease as he hit 9 boundaries to bring up his almost run-a-ball innings.

2. Shreyas Iyer’s maiden fifty

23-year old, Iyer’s joy would’ve known no bounds after he finally brought up his maiden half-century in the ODI format. The youngster took the field at number 3 in Virat Kohli‘s absence, after the dismissal of Dhawan and delivered exactly what was expected of him. He scored 88 runs off just 70 deliveries and could’ve very well gone on to get to his first ODI century, before being caught by substitute fielder, Chaturanga de Silva off the bowling of Lankan skipper, Thisara Perera.

3. Rohit Sharma’s third ODI double ton

The more one speaks about Rohit Sharma‘s batting prowess, the less it seems. The talented batsman slammed his third double century in the format, leaving the spectators gaping at the sheer volume of his talent and skill. Not one Sri Lankan bowler seemed to be able to come up with an antidote to the ‘Hitman’ as he continued scoring runs with remarkable fluidity throughout the innings. The right-handed batsman scored 208 runs off just 153 balls, that included 13 boundaries and 12 sixes, and helped India to get to the gargantuan total of 392 runs.

4. Forgettable outings for Lakmal and Pradeep

It was a bad day at the office for the Sri Lankan bowlers, to say the least. Not only did they fail to pick up wickets at regular intervals, they were utterly unsuccessful in stemming the Indian run-flow in any way. Pacers, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep were the ones who had to take a severe beating as they leaked runs like a damaged sink-tap. Pradeep conceded 106 runs in his quota of 10 overs while Lakmal gave away 71 runs in his 8 overs, leaving Sri Lanka with barely a sliver of a chance to make a contest out of the game in the second innings.

5. Clinical bowling performance by India

India excelled in all three departments in the second ODI as they defended the mammoth total they’d put up without any hint of complacency. The Indian bowlers were immaculate and clinical in their performances in the second innings, bagging regular scalps and providing crucial breakthroughs to keep the scales tipped in their favour.

While pacer Jasprit Bumrah picked up 2 wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal got 3 scalps to his name. With wickets falling constantly, Sri Lanka would’ve hardly hoped to have any shot at winning the game and the clinical Indian bowling and fielding ensured that the Rohit Sharma-led side levelled the 3-match series at 1-1.