India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI HIGHLIGHTS: KL Rahul's half-century leads IND to 4-wicket win

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Kuldeep Yadav, player of the match |   I am happy with my performance. Since the last one year, I have been trying to back my strength and not think much. Whenever I get my chance, I just think about performing well. I am enjoying my bowling a lot. The team combination matters, so I just try to give my best whenever I get my chance. I bowl faster in the IPL and T20Is, also to give the batter one run. So I just did that here as well. I have worked on my batting a lot of late. Same with fitness. Whenever I get time, I go to the NCA. So thanks to the trainers there. That’s one thing I have tried to do in last one year. Earlier, I wasn’t much into it. Chahal too gave me inputs about their batters. We will have a bit of fun.

Rohit Sharma, India captain | It was a close game but games like these teach you a lost. We had to build an innings under pressure. These guys have played under pressure quite a few times. KL has been batting at five for a long period of time now and it gives us the depth. Gives you confidence as well at the top of the order for us to go and bat freely. It was a good display of batsmanship.  

It’ll be nice to have a left-hander, but I don’t believe too much into it. The right-handers have got a lot of runs behind them in the last one year. We were not playing a lot of ODIs, so they got a lot of chance. Ideally we would like to have a left-hander, but we know the quality of the right-handers who are out there in the middle. They can tackle situations when put under pressure.

We haven’t thought about it yet (Changes for the final ODI). Once we get there we’ll have a look at the pitch and have a look at some of our guys. There are 3 ODIs coming up against New Zealand as well, so we need to keep the guys fresh. We’ve got a long season now and we need to keep everything in mind. If needed, we’ll make some changes.

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Mohammed Siraj is gamechanger of the match for his brilliant spell of 3/30.

India vs Sri Lanka Live:

Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain | Not enough runs on the board. We got a good start with the bat and then lost a few wickets. At the start, we discussed that it was a very flat deck. 300+ was the score to set, but Kuldeep bowled really well in the middle phase. Batsmen not getting starts is a big concern. We had a chance because the ball was moving. I asked the fast bowlers to stick to their basics.

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The record for most defeats in ODIs has been broken.
ODIs: 437 defeats for Sri Lanka (goes past India’s 436 defeats)
T20Is: 94 defeats for Sri Lanka

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KL Rahul | I won’t say it was a flat wicket, or it was doing a lot that it was impossible to bat, it was a sporty wicket. When Sri Lanka started, I thought it was a 280-300 wicket. But our bowlers bowled really well to keep them to 220-odd. But they put up a good fight, got early breakthroughs to put us under pressure. But I had a good partnership with Shreyas and Hardik and Axar as well. We always try to find a way to win, and it was nice to cross the line in the end. 

In Guwahati, the openers put pressure on the opposition. Then your mindset is to attack, doesn’t matter who is bowling (on a different approach against Hasaranga today).  Today we lost early wickets, so it was important to soak the pressure. If we are chasing 280-300, then we would attack him. But today there was no need.

The good thing about batting at No. 5 is you don’t have to rush. You can take a cold shower, have a nice meal, put your feet up, and watch the game. But I always think what the team needs of me. If you can read the situation when you go in, it helps you and team. Batting at No. 5 has helped me understand my game better. At No. 5 you have to face spin straightaway; I like the ball coming onto the bat but Rohit has been pretty clear that he wants me to bat at No. 5, so that’s what I am trying to do.

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The openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had a brisk start, but were dismissed soon enough. Virat Kohli never got going and Shreyas Iyer had a stay similar to the openers. It was Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul who steadied the ship after a flurry of wickets and the latter continued till the end even after Pandya’s dismissal. Axar Patel too continued to prove his worth with a small cameo and reduced the pressure with a couple of good shots. Towards the end, it was just a matter of time as India had too few runs to chase with too many balls available. Sri Lanka will have to introspect their batting and despite of the fact that they bowled well today, Dasun Shanaka might want to look at some of his decisions and bowling changes going ahead as they could have created more pressure when India were 4 wickets down.

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43.2 Kuldeep Yadav plays a flat-batted shot down the ground and hits the winning runs, quite fittingly. He was the star in the first innings and has deservedly hit the winning runs. A hard-fought chase for India, didn’t come as easy as it seemed initially, but they will be happy with the win. 

A 10th ODI series win for India against Sri Lanka at home!

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42.4 An inside edge and that has raced away to the boundary as the ball just passes besides the stumps.

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42.2 Four for KL Rahul this time. A fuller delivery on the pads, Rahul flicks it towards the backward square leg. The practice pitches help him as the fielder dives to save the boundary but in vain.

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41.6 Kuldeep Yadav gets a boundary to deep backward point now! Sri Lanka clearly don’t know what to do. A short ball, he jumps and cuts it up and over backward point. India inching closer.

India: 2013/6 after 42 overs

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Sri Lankans have allowed some easy singles to Kuldeep Yadav. And KL Rahul has not been hesitant either to give the strike back to Kuldeep! India still have the margin of deliveries, but Sri Lanka are clearly running short of runs.

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40.2 A single on the leg side and that will half-century for KL Rahul! 50 off 93 deliveries. That is also a no-ball. A close call but the bowler will have to pay. Kuldeep will take the strike.

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39.5 Axar Patel is gone. A brilliant catch in the deep by Chamika Karunaratne. He has his tongue out in celebration. Axar tried to go over the top on off-side but found the fielder at long off. Sri Lanka are still alive, and one more wicket will bring them out of the ICU. Axar Patel c Chamika Karunaratne b Dhananjaya De Silva 21(21)

India: 191/6 after 40 overs

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There is no time for Dasun Shanaka to take it deep now. Does not make any sense to allow part-timer Dhananjaya De Silva an over. Maybe a burst from frontline seamers shall do the job on either side. India need 30 from 12 overs.

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Axar Patel has certainly eased the pressure with multiple boundaries in the last over. 13 of that over and India need 31 off 74 deliveries now.

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36.2 Karunaratne tries a short ball and Axar Patel is right on the money to pull that to the cow corner region for a maximum! That was quite slower as well giving Axar ample of time.

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36.1 Axar Patel has found a gap on the off side, and timed his drive to perfection. That was too full from Karunaratne and Axar has guided that through cover and extra cover. That was a no-ball as well. So a free-hit as well!

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India still need 51 runs from 90 deliveries. The chase is on, but Sri Lanka might just have a glimmer of hope with Hardik Pandya’s wicket. Can they make a comeback here? They will need at least one wicket here to put pressure back on India. Wanindu Hasaranga in his final over.

India: 165/5 after 35 overs

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34.1 A wicket against the run of play for Sri Lanka and Chamika Karunaratne jumps in elation. Hardik Pandya is the batter to depart. Gets a thick edge to the wicket-keeper and Menids holds on to a dipping catch. Pandya went hard for a cover drive but didn’t move his feet. Sri Lanka will now look to make a comeback. Hardik Pandya c Kusal Mendis b Karunaratne 36(53)

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Time for some refreshments. Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul have played exceptionally well to keep going in a steady manner. On a track that seemed smooth to get going for the batters, the bowlers have been brilliant. And the Indian pair has defied their wishes to take on the bowlers and played a lot sensibly to keep India in hunt for the chase.

India: 147/4 after 31 overs

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Ajit Agarkar on commentary | Dasun Shanaka has to bring in fast bowlers. Karunaratne has bowled just four overs. Don’t think his overs are going to get carried forward to the next game.

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29.1 Dhananjaya De Silva welcomed with a boundary. That was a lot fuller, Hardik Pandya takes out a big stride and drives it beautifully through the covers. This is clinical batting from the Indian duo.

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28.4 Fifty-run partnership for KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya – 86 deliveries to reach there. You don’t often see so many delivery for these two to reach the partnership. That was bowled fuller from Lahiru Kumara and KL Rahul lofts it over mid-off for four runs.

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Lovely shot by KL Rahul. A little fuller from Hasaranga and he drives it through extra cover. The ball races away to the boundary.

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Another good over from Wanindu Hasaranga. He has conceded just 14 runs from 6 overs.

India: 126/4 after 26 overs.

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24.3 A loud appeal from Dasun Shanaka as KL Rahul gets beaten but they choose against a review.

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Skipper Dasun Shanaka comes into attack and has started the over with a couple of wides. Sri Lankans have already bowled nine wides in 23 overs. How costly would these wides prove in such a small run chase!

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20.6 Drifting on the pads and Pandya flicks it through square leg. That was not aerial either and it raced away for four runs. Excellent shot from Hardik Pandya. That over shall break any nerves, if at all, getting on the Indian duo.

India: 110/4 after 21 overs

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20.4 A boundary after quite a while. Overs 11-20 didn’t see a single boundary. A fullish delivery from Kasun Rajitha and Hardik Pandya has driven it beautifully down the ground, to the right of mid-off.

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A slow run of play. Indian batters are taking no risk, playing down the ground consistently. Hardik was seen leaving even a few deliveries wherein he could have scored easily. Meanwhile, India have reached their 100 in the 20th over. A run rate of 5 is still enough for them to get through. Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul have to stay at the crease to keep things easy.

India: 101/4 after 20 overs

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Sri Lanka bowlers are testing the Indian batters hard. This is not going to be easy for India even if they win from here on. Just five runs in last three overs.

India: 91/4 after 17 overs

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Indian batters have not looked uncomfortable and have tried to dominate and establish authority with a flurry of boundaries, but the Sri Lankan bowlers have been excellent and the good deliveries have given them wickets.

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14.2 An excellent delivery from Kasun Rajitha has caught Shreyas Iyer plumb! A full delivery – almost a yorker and Iyer misses it completely. The ball thuds on his front leg and seemed gone right from the moment. Iyer reviews it but the DRS shows “Umpire’s call” on wickets. India now really in a spot of bother. Shreyas Iyer lbw b Kasun Rajitha 28 (33) 

That will drinks break as well.

India vs Sri Lanka Live:

India slowed down a bit – just two runs in last two overs. However, they should not feel pressure with a couple of silent overs as the required rate is less than 4 runs per over.

Not short of action this evening. 12x4, 1x6 and 3 wickets in 10 overs. Really good cricket

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 12, 2023

India vs Sri Lanka Live:

10.3 Back-to-back boundaries for Shreyas Iyer through mid-wicket. Two short deliveries from Karunaratne and Iyer has pulled both of them quite well. The first one a lot flatter and played the second one in the air.