IND vs SL: KL Rahul, bowlers help India clinch ODI series in Kolkata

India have now won ten bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka on home soil.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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Umran Malik
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Umran Malik. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Team India triumphed in a hotly contested affair against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens to claim another bilateral series victory against their neighbours, tenth on Indian soil. The home side was given an almighty scare after their top order faltered while chasing a modest 216-run target set by the visitors. KL Rahul's unbeaten 64 guided India to a comfortable victory in the end after the bowlers had done the business in the first innings.

Chasing a modest total, India made a brisk start and were on their way to clinching the series with relative ease. But the Sri Lankan bowlers, especially the pacers, made a right fist of the par score after dismissing the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in quick succession. The home side was not perturbed by those two early wickets and kept their foot on the accelerator.

But their aggressive approach gave the Sri Lankan pacers an opportunity to claw their way back into the match, which is exactly what they did after scalping two huge wickets of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. The ball was still zipping around, troubling the Indian batting pair of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.

Rahul, who played the role of the enforcer in the previous match, accommodated his game according to the conditions and dropped anchor in an invaluable partnership with Pandya. The Sri Lankan shoulders dropped as the experienced Indian pair refrained from taking unnecessary risks, continuing their march towards the target.

However, the visitors found an opening in the match after the spirited Chamika Karunaratne got rid of Pandya with 50-odd runs still needed by the home side. A brisk cameo by the impressive Axar Patel pulled things further in favor of the Indians, but his wicket handed the opposition another lifeline in the series. But Rahul ensured that India reached the target without any further casualty with his fighting half-century.

Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj dented the Sri Lankan hopes in the first innings

With the series on the line, Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first on a seemingly flat track at the Eden Gardens. The visitors made a decent start to the innings before the menacing Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Avishka Fernando with another pearler. 

Despite that early setback, Nuwanidu Fernando, who was making his international debut in the match, looked untroubled in front of a star-studded Indian bowling unit. He, along with the experienced Kusal Mendis, put Sri Lanka in a commanding position with a brisk partnership for the second wicket. 

However, things quickly went downhill for the visitors with the introduction of Kuldeep Yadav into the attack. Kuldeep, who was drafted into the team due to an injury concern to the veteran leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, dismissed Mendis in his first over to bring India back into the contest. His wicket triggered a mini-collapse for the Islanders as they lost six wickets for just 50 runs.

While Kuldeep was the tormentor-in-chief for the middle order batters, the Indian fast-bowling duo of Siraj and Umran Malik made light work of the tail, combining for five wickets in total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to India's series victory against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens:

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India vs Sri Lanka 2023IndiaSri LankaMohammed SirajKL RahulHardik Pandya