The win here can be termed as a miracle. No one would have expected Sri Lanka to trump Indian team in the game to left the side stranded and waiting for their chance of going in the next round. With this win, they haven’t just stranded chances of Indian team but have also opened the gates for themselves to get an entry in the next round. The remaining matches of this group are now none less than quarter final games, where the winner of both the contests will enter semi-final.
Sri Lanka, who came in with a tag of underdog, pulled off a stunning heist to upset India. They chased a down mountainous total of 322, with seven wickets still in hands. Despite losing the first early wicket, their batsmen never bound themselves and kept the game open by playing aggressive cricket. They were playing their shots and weren’t looking to play a string of dot balls, which was the secret of their win because never during the chase, the asking rate went more than 7.00.
Barring Niroshan Dickwella, each and every batsman had their say in the chase. The base was founded by Danushka Gunathilaka – who was called in as replacement of Chamara Kapugedara just a day ago – along with Kusal Mendis, who is a player to watch out for in future. Both mixed up quite well and added 159 runs for the second wicket. Two quick wickets followed but just like top order batsmen, the middle order players too did the trick and chased down the total, to prevent their last game being termed as a dead rubber.
A group which seemed to be tame till a few hours back will now draw a lot of attention in the weekend when India take on South Africa and between Sri Lanka take on Pakistan.
For this game, Kusal Mendis was adjudged Man of the Match for his match winning innings of 89 of 93, to win the game for his team.
Man of the Match Quotes –
“Very good wicket. India had a good start, with Dhawan making a hundred. But for us, Danushka supported me very well. It was my first game against India and I’m happy to have contributed. Very bad [about causing Danushka’s run out] but after Angelo and Kusal batted, I was very happy.”