India won the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 12, 2023, by 4 wickets in a hard-fought victory while chasing a paltry target of 216 runs.
The Indian team was stretched out properly by the Sri Lankan team despite them posting just 215 runs on the board. Debutant Nuwanidu Fernando made 50, while Kusal Mendis (34) and Dunith Wellalage (32) contributed to the total.
For India, Mohammed Siraj with 3/30 and Kuldeep Yadav with 3/51 were the picks of the bowlers.
Shubman Gill (21 in 12 balls) and Rohit Sharma (17) tried to take the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers. Lahiru Kumara hurt India badly by removing Gill and Virat Kohli (4) and Chamika Karunaratne got Rohit Sharma out.
IND v SL 2023: Mohammed Siraj elaborates on his bowling plans on batting-friendly Kolkata wicket
Then Shreyas Iyer (28) and KL Rahul (64* in 103 balls) got together to steady the innings, but at 86/4, Hardik Pandya and Rahul came together to add 75 runs for the 5th wicket and gave India the advantage.
Pandya made 36 in 53 balls, while Sri Lanka tried to claw back in the game with the wickets of Pandya, and Akshar Patel (21), to put India in a spot of bother.
However, KL Rahul anchored one end and Kuldeep Yadav with 10* took India to victory in 43.2 overs and four wickets in hand. Kuldeep Yadav was given the Player of the Match.
For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Kumar (2/64) and Karunaratne (2/51) were the best bowlers. India not only won the match but also took a 2-0 lead with one match to go and won the series as well.
The cricket fraternity was all praises for India’s bowling and KL Rahul’s batting ability as India went 2-0 up.
Here are the tweets:
