SL v IND, 2nd ODI Review: Bhuvneshwar, Dhoni guide India home in a tense chase

Sri Lanka finally turned up in the second game of the ODI series. During the Indian chase, they were on top for the most part of the innings. That they could not close out the game, is the hallmark of the brand of cricket India is playing at the moment. Young Akila Dhananjaya picked up a memorable haul of 6/54 but could not take his side to a win.

India openers begin swiftly again

India, again, came out all guns blazing in pursuit of a revised total of 231 in 47 overs. Dhawan, who has been in phenomenal form, took the back seat as his partner Rohit Sharma was on a rampage. He struck 3 sixes within the first 10 overs and looked on course to play a big innings. The pair added 109 runs in just 93 balls before Rohit (54) swept a full ball off Dhananjaya which hit the right-hander on the full. Dhawan (49) had picked up the pace in the meanwhile but fell to a similar shot – top edging an attempted sweep which was taken acrobatically by Mathews at short fine leg – off Siriwardana. With two quick wickets, there was a spring in the Sri Lankan players stride. Rahul and Kedar Jadhav were promoted to bat at No. 3 and 4. It was a perfect opportunity for the duo to get some runs under their belt but young Dhananjaya, who got married last night, had other ideas.

Dhananjaya weaves his magic

In a spell which left the Indians bamboozled, Dhananjaya used his crafty variations to good effect. In the 18th over, the 23-year old did what most bowlers can’t even dream of doing in international cricket. He took three wickets, all clean bowled, and the causalities were Jadhav, Kohli, and Rahul. That is quite a list for the young tweaker. All three wickets came off googlies as the Indians were stunned to find themselves reeling at 119 for 5. While Rahul looked very chary, Kohli was over ambitious and Jadhav looked stunned.

Pandya came in and wanted to take the attack back to the young spinner. Only on his third ball, the all-rounder tried to charge the right-arm bowler only to miss the ball and before he knew it, Dickwella whipped the bails off much to the excitement of the crowd in Kandy. That was a grouchy choice of shot suggesting that Pandya was being willy nilly and not bothered to play to the situation of the game. Axar Patel missed one from Dhananjaya too, which the umpire thought would have gone on to crash onto the off stump. At 131 for 7, India looked down and out. This is where Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dhoni teamed up.

Dhoni-Bhuvi rearguard act

Both added an unbeaten stand of 100 runs for the 7th wicket. Dhoni’s calmness rubbed on Bhuvneshwar, who took 60 balls to get past 20. It was a question of batting for time, which Dhoni was completely aware of hence did not bother with the dot balls Bhuvi played in the first half of his innings. After bowling Dhananjaya for 8 overs, Tharanga switched to pace but Dhoni and Bhuvi were prepared to play percentage cricket and brick by brick reconstructed the innings. When Dhananjaya was called back, Bhuvi struck two pristine boundaries off the back foot to end any hopes of a Sri Lankan win. In the end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar overtook Dhoni and remained unbeaten on 53 off 80 balls while Dhoni, who was abstemious in his entire innings, remained unconquered on 45 off 68 balls.

Familiar story for Sri Lanka batting

Virat Kohli put Sri Lanka in first and why not if you have a reputation of a great chaser. Jasprit Bumrah opened the bowling in this game along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. While the opening bowlers had a tight lid over Danushka Gunathilaka, Dickwella was slick and smashed a couple of sixes to provide his team a brisk start. But the lack of experience and rush of blood prompted him to fritter away his start as he was dismissed in an embarrassing manner for a 24-ball 31.

After the wicket keeper’s exit, the scoring rate was dilapidated due to some tight bowling by the Indian. In the next 16 overs after the fall of Dickwella, the hosts managed to get just 58 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, and skipper Tharanga were the causalities. When Mathews was making his way back to the pavilion, Sri Lanka had lost half their side for just 121 runs on the board and were in danger of getting bowled out before the allotted 50 overs. It took a rearguard partnership of 91 between Siriwardana and Kapugedera to take Sri Lanka close to a respectable total.

While Kapugedera (40) played a scratchy innings, Siriwardana was fluent as he made a run-a-ball 58, which was his third half century of his career. Both fell in the quest of getting quick runs and there was no resistance by the lower order as Sri Lanka ended with 236 for 8 after 50 overs. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, returning with 4/43 while the wrist spin of Chahal helped him to get 2/43 off his 10 overs. Axar Patel bowled economically returning with 1/30 in his 10 overs.