Sri Lanka Vs India 2nd ODI: Twitter Reacts As India Overcomes Akila Dananjaya Scare To Go Two-Up In The Series 1

Akila Dananjaya brought back the memories of India batsmen’s struggles against mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis as the off-spinner spun a web around Virat Kohli & Co. before Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unbeaten partnership took India home. The Men in Blue defeated the hosts by 3 wickets in the second ODI at Pallekele to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

After the Indian bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to a low total, rain threatened to play spoilsport but it, fortunately, the game resumed and the visitors were given a revised target of 231 in 47 overs. The game, nevertheless, looked as good as over when Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan added 109 runs for the first wicket before the former was dismissed by Akila Dananjaya for 54. However, the game soon turned on its head when Milinda Siriwardana dismissed Dhawan before Dananjaya ran through India’s middle-order, dismissing Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli,  KL Rahul Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel for single-digit scores to leave the visitors reeling at 131 for 7. Dananjaya finished the match with figures of 6 for 54 in his quota of 10 overs.

Sri Lanka’s hopes of upsetting India, however, was soon quashed as Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar steadied the ship and added 100 runs for the eighth wicket to take India over the line in the 45th over. Bhuvneshwar remained unbeaten on 53 while Dhoni scored 45.

Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah’s 4-wicket haul restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 236 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs. The hosts were once again off to a decent start with Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka adding 41 runs for the first wicket before the former was sent back by Bumrah. Dickwella’s departure, meanwhile, put India on top as the Islanders kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were 4 down before they could reach the 100-run mark.

Their condition further deteriorated when they were reduced to 121 for 5 before Milinda Siriwardana and Chamara Kapugedera shared a 91-run stand. However, no recognized batsmen left after them, the duo did not take any chances and consequently, the required run-rate remained low throughout the innings as the hosts posted a below-par total for the second game in a row.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:

https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/900770601828204544

https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/900756525458706437

https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/900753966039932928