Sunday, November 9, 2014

India seal Sri Lanka ODI series at Hyderabad – thanks to Dhawan and Umesh


As one of the commentators has said – Sri Lanka won all three tosses but not any of the ODI matches. It was a reflection on the non-performance of the top order batsmen who appeared to be struggling to get bat to ball.
Shikhar Dhawan has missed a century by 9 runs and has not only scored 283 runs from three games in the series but has led India's batting effort in the series, and his return to form is a positive sign ahead of a grueling tour of Australia and the World Cup.
Sri Lanka won the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and chose to bat but Umesh Yadav foiled their plans with two quick wickets – he removed opener Kusal Pereira with the last ball of his first over and then in the first ball of his second, he sent Kumar Sangakkara for a duck. However, Mahela Jayawardene’s century saved them the blushes and allowed them to post a score of 242 which was insufficient.
With this knock, Mahela also crossed 12,000 ODI runs. He and Dilshan put on a 105-runs partnership but much more was needed.
This home series would help the probable squad to get match practice and Virat Kohli, as captain, has shown that he has the capability to handle situations. Of course, noting drastic happened and it has been plain sailing till now. With two more matches to go and with Virat Kohli determined to make it a 5-0 series win, one only hopes that the Indian team is not peaking too early. The road to the 2015 World Cup trophy is a long one, that too away from home.

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