India won the second ODI against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. India successfully chased 275 runs target with 6 wickets in hand, sparing 33 balls.
Match Report: India v Sri Lanka; 2nd ODI; Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, 6 November, 2014.
Sri Lanka after winning the toss decided to bat first but they could not fully take advantage of it. Early dismissals of batsmen followed by inconsistent partnerships left Sri Lanka 30-40 runs short of a competitive target considering the Indian strong batting line-up.
Thisera Perera went for a duck, while Dilshan & Jayawardene too departs quite early. Sri Lanka was struggling at 64-3 when Mathews came on crease. He together with Sangakara built up a 90-runs partnership that to some extent eased the pressure on the team but the conventional Sangakara touch was missing in the inning. They took the powerplay to somehow accelerate the run rate but end up losing three wickets.
Mathews’ unbeaten 92 was apparently the only saviour of the Sri Lankan inning as he wasn’t supported by players on the other end. Prasad's unbeaten 30 off 28 in a ninth-wicket stand somehow aided the scoreboard but still was quite insufficient infront of the hosts’ batting form.
Ambati Rayudu’s impeccable maiden ODI century majorly facilitated India in its 6 wickets’ victory against Sri Lanka. Though Rahane departed early, but Rayudu with Dhawan built up a 122 runs 2nd wicket partnership taking India halfway towards victory.
Dhawan remained lucky and got a life in the 10th over when the clear outside edge, sound & obvious deviation failed to catch sight of the umpire. Sri Lankan bowlers seemed to lack proper touch & were further tormented by calm & considerate batting display from India. They waited for the seam to soften down a bit and then strike back.
Thisara Perera was blasted for 17 in one over - the most expensive in a seven-over stretch between the 19th and 26th that yield 69 runs for India. With the half-centuries coming, the run rate further accelerated thus panicking Sri Lanka.
Dhawan was dismissed when he was at 79, but his partnership has already strengthened the Indian position, Kohli stepped in, but he was quite at ease on the field with runs coming from both ends. He scored fast paced 49 runs off 44 balls before getting out. Rayudu hit the winning shot and finished it on 122 off 118 balls. Prasanna grabbed 3 of the four Indian wickets but that too didn’t help his side. India is now leading the 5 matches ODI series by 2-0
Scorecard:
India 275 for 4 (Rayudu 121*, Dhawan 79) beat Sri Lanka 274 for 8 (Mathews 92*, Sangakkara 61, Akshar 2-39) by six wickets
Man of the Match: AT Rayudu (India)