Not a single viewer or fan would have bet on a Sri Lanka win over India at the Oval. Contrary to almost every expectation, Sri Lanka managed to stun India in front of a jam-packed Oval and have just made things in Group B livelier. Thanks to some brilliant batting display by the Sri Lankans, both remaining games of Group B are now effective quarter-finals.

Considering that rain won’t have an impact on the result, the winners of both matches will go through the semi-finals. Coming to this game, however, it was a critical affair for both teams. India did commit a few errors which led to this loss and need to address those issues quickly before their game on Sunday against South Africa.

Thereby, below we have a look at the five turning points for the game.

Virat Kohli’s wicket:

Virat Kohli is an absolute beast against Sri Lanka and his wicket was a massive reason behind India scoring just 321 and not 350 at the end. Keeping in mind the nature of the pitch; Kohli’s love for Sri Lankan bowlers and the platform which was provided for India right at the start, Kohli did miss out. The Indian captain was caught behind for a duck, which was his first ever in an ICC event matches. With the run machine departing early, the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan had to slow down to compensate for the loss. Kohli’s absence was felt at the end as well, since with him around, India could have reached anywhere between 340 and 350, keeping in mind how berserk he goes at the death.

Kusal Mendis showing calmness:

Kusal Mendis was always termed as Sri Lanka’s future superstar. He proved that point with an emphatic batting performance against India in a steep run chase. Having lost an early wicket and in pursuit of a big total, even some renowned names would have panicked and not played to their full potential. But the youngster kept his composure to stitch a game-changing stand along with Danushka Gunathilaka for the second wicket. For the 2nd wicket, the duo added 159 runs in just 23.1 overs. Thanks to Mendis’ 89 off 93 deliveries, a solid base was set for Mathews to take off later in the game.

Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh do not capitalise on the start:

In the modern game, it is essential for the opening combination to ensure that the team is off to a solid and rapid start. While the Indian openers did the first thing, they couldn’t quite do the other one round as the run rate was still below 6 when Sharma got out in the 25^th over. Ideally, one of the openers should bat through while the other accelerates. Sharma was doing just that and in a bid to accelerate, fell prey to Lasith Malinga and was caught at the edge of the boundary. Yuvraj Singh too wasted on his start as despite playing 18 deliveries, he was well set, but was castled of an inside edge. Had one of Rohit or Yuvraj been until the end, India would have got a far greater score.

Asela Gunaratne replacing the injured Kusal Perera:

While Kusal Perera must be lauded for his knock of 47, the decision to send him back to the pavilion on account of his worsening injury was a proactive call indeed. The southpaw wasn’t able to properly run and as a result, the twos were being restricted to singles. This was hurting Sri Lanka’s chase and as a result, Asela Gunaratne replaced the injured batsman. It turned out to be an excellent move as all rounder responded with a match-winning cameo of 34 off 21 deliveries, which included two sixes, one of Yadav and the other of Bumrah.

Indian all-rounders having a poor day:

It was one of those rare occasions when both the Indian all-rounders faltered together. The 13 overs bowled by Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja together resulted in 103 runs for Sri Lanka in 13 overs. This means a run rate of nearly 8 and due to this, skipper Virat Kohli had to revert to the part timers which allowed the Sri Lankans to settle in. Pandya was taken to the cleaners right from the start as his length remained on the shorter side. Jadeja, the one who usually keeps things extremely tight was India’s only spinner, and him conceding 52 off 6 overs dented India.