Dhaka, January 06: Sri Lanka won the second ODI of the Idea Cup by beating India in the tri-nation series by 5 wickets at the Mirpur stadium. Sangakkara and Samaraweera help Sri Lanka rebuild the total of 280 with 2 overs remaining.
In the second innings, outfield became saturated with dew and the bowlers found it harder to grip the soft white ball, Sri Lanka’s hopes of chasing down 280 rested heavily on the shoulders of their two most experienced batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera. Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne, the debutant, had given them a brisk start, but onceIndia conceded just 16 in the five overs of the bowling Powerplay, the onus was very much on the old hands to see it home.
Tharanga had set the tone with a casual loft for four off Zaheer Khan, and then two then took 16 from an over that also featured wides down the leg side. With runs leaking, MS Dhoni gave the ball to Sreesanth, only for Thirimanne to reveal glimpses of his potential with three cracking drives through the covers.
It was too good to last though. In Sreesanth’s next over, Thirimanne got into a tangle trying to pull off the front foot and the ball ballooned to midwicket. Soon after, Harbhajan Singh was introduced and Tharanga chipped his fourth ball straight back to him.
But Samaraweera came in and wrested the initiative with deft cuts and a paddle for four. And with Sangakkara unafraid to come down the pitch and chip over the infield, the innings quickly revived. By then the towels were out, and the Indian focus was as much on keeping the ball dry as it was on taking thewickets needed to win the game.
Earlier, Yuvraj Singh struck a flamboyant 74 as India made 279 for nine in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the second One-day International of the tri-nation series at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur here Tuesday. Virender Sehwag (47), Ravindra Jadeja (39), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (37) and Suresh Raina (35) came up with decent cameos afterSri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara opted to field. For Sri Lanka , left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara was the most successful bowler with five for 66 while Thilan Tushara and Thisara Pereira picked up two wickets each.
Sehwag was on a song right from the start, plundering runs off Welegedara and Suranga Lakmal. Sehwag was especially severe on Lakmal, hitting the right-arm fast bowler for three fours in the sixth over as 50 runs came up in the next over.
Having accounted for Gautam Gambhir (8) and Virat Kohli (9), Welegedara struck in the ninth over to get rid off Sehwag, who gave an easy catch to Lahiru Thirimanne at mid-off. WithIndia tottering at 71/3, Yuvraj and Dhoni stabilised the innings with their 99-run stand. Dhoni played a cautious innings while Yuvraj went for the big hits. Dhoni hit just three fours in his 70-ball knock and was caught behind by Kumar Sangakkara off Thisara Perera.
Yuvraj, who made his comeback after recovering from a finger fracture, smashed two sixes and six fours in his 84-ball stay as India got to a competitive total.
–Agencies