Post the defeat in the second ODI, the Sri Lankans can only stare at themselves in the mirror and assess on what truly went wrong for them. Needing to defend 231 in 47 overs, all seemed over when the Indian openers were having a ball in the middle. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were toying with the helpless bowling and it just seemed a matter of time before the score was chased down.
However, some brilliance in the field from Angelo Matthews and then a riveting spell from Akila Dhananjaya turned the game around on its head. 109-0 soon turned into 131-7, and it seemed a repeat of the 2008 Asia Cup final when Ajanta Mendis crushed India.
This time, it was the young Dhananjaya, whose googly bamboozled the Indian batsmen. Needing 100 to win and with just three wickets in hand, India unbelievably got home without further damage, as MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar calmly sealed the chase.
Post the game, Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga admitted that he was quite disappointed with the result. Tharanga also spoke about his decision to hold back the spinner’s over for the last few overs.
“Disappointed. We came very close and couldn’t finish it. Milind and Kapu gave us a good start. Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar played well,” said Tharanga.
“Dananjaya bowled very well. We had a few overs to go, that’s why we kept him for the last few overs. Mentioning that the fielding had improved, Tharanga added, “Fielding and bowling have improved. Dananjaya and Milinda were brilliant.”