New Delhi: At 193-7, while chasing 276, India was down and out of the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo on Tuesday. However, Deepak Chahar (69 off 82 balls) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (19 off 28 balls) got India out of the jail as the visitors won by three wickets to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match ODI series.
India’s stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan was full of praise on Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the duo got the team over the line. Dhawan also hailed the efforts of Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya, who were able to contribute to India’s win in the second game of the series.
Shikhar Dhawan said while talking in the post-match presentation, “I felt that the wicket today was much better and we restricted them to a good score. The spinners fought back and the bowlers adjusted their line and lengths when their batsmen were in. We didn’t start well and it is a good learning lesson for the youngsters that every day is not the same. They will understand how to handle these situations and how to bring in new strategies. The way Manish Pandey and Suryakumar were batting, we thought they would take us home. Hard luck to Pandey for the way he got out. The way Krunal fought in the middle was amazing. Everyone showed character”.
Dhawan revealed that Chahar has worked hard on his batting in the practice sessions and the same was palpable on Tuesday as the right-hander scored his maiden half-century.
Dhawan added, “We knew that Chahar has worked hard in the nets on his batting. His presence of mind and calculations against the leg-spinner was amazing. Both Bhuvi and him calculated it really well. I felt the way Sri Lanka planned their innings in both their batting and bowling was amazing. The way they batted and fielded was good to watch. They worked really hard, but glad that we are on the winning side. Every game is a learning lesson and we hope to analyse and get better. We want to put up a good show all the time”.
The third ODI will take place on Friday.