After a poor start to the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Series, Sri Lanka had rebounded well by first holding India to a tie, and then comfortably beating Australia to secure a bonus point. India, on the other hand, fluctuated: beat Australia, tied Sri Lanka, then a big loss to Australia. The rotation policy was having no effect on the struggling top order, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the mainstay of the middle order, was suspended for a game due to slow over rates. Now it wasn't just Sri Lanka playing a game they needed to win to remain in contention for the finals.
Good Starts and Better Finishes for Sri Lanka
Choosing to bat first, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan made another good start for the Sri Lankans, putting up 95 for the first wicket in 18 overs before the Sri Lankan captain was the first to fall, acrobatically caught by Virender Sehwag for 45. Dilshan reached his half-century, but he and Kumar Sangakkara fell in quick succession to give India an opening at 124/3.
Youngsters Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne quickly set about stabilizing the innings. Thirimanne mixed innovative strokeplay with controversy by backing up too far, even after Ravichandran Ashwin had run him out and Virender Sehwag retracted the appeal. Irfan Pathan ended the aggressive 71-run partnership with Chandimal's wicket for 38. Thirimanne was dismissed after making a fluent half-century, and Angelo Mathews cashed in on the wayward Indian death bowling to make 49* off 37 balls, as Sri Lanka ran up 289/6, the highest score in the tournament thus far.
India's Early Losses Throw Off Their Entire Chase
A 300-esque total needs a good start, and Virender Sehwag made life difficult for the rest of his team by slashing at a wide Lasith Malinga delivery to give his wicket away off only the second ball of the innings. India 0/1, with Nuwan Kulasekera removing both Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir after they both had made good starts. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina repaired the damage even as the asking rate crept up to 6.4 an over. Dinesh Chandimal dropped Kohli twice, but Farveez Maharoof snapped the 92-run stand before either batsmen could think of accelerating with Suresh Raina's wicket for 32.
Kohli went on to make a half-century, but fell with the required rate already at 8.28 runs an over. Half of India's side gone with still 116 left to win. Irfan Pathan blasted quick boundaries to keep India in the hunt, but the Sri Lankan quicks ran through the rest of the tail too well. After slapping 47 off 33 balls, Pathan was the last to go, with the required run rate already over 10 runs an over. India 238 all out, losing to Sri Lanka by 51 runs.
Are India On The Wrong Side of the Tournament?
It bears repeating that India made the same mistakes in this game as they did their last. They gave away far too many runs at the death (18 wides bowled across eight bowlers), and the top order caved in again and left too much for the middle order to do. It says a lot when it's only the 30th over and you still need 7.25 runs an over to win. Kohli batted well but threw his wicket away, Sehwag just threw his wicket away, and even Irfan Pathan's solid cameo wasn't enough to soften the blow of a 51-run defeat.
Minor Blips Give Sri Lanka Homework
Barring Dinesh Chandimal's dropped catches, this was Sri Lanka's best performance of the tournament. Of the eight players who batted, five made 38 or more, and the pace bowlers never let India take control of the chase. It's a huge turnaround for the team, who are now in second place with more points and a better net run rate than India.
Sri Lanka still have three games to play. They'd be hoping Dinesh Chandimal has a lot of fielding practice for each of them.
2012 Commonwealth Bank Series, Sri Lanka vs. India:
- Sri Lanka 289/6 (Lahiru Thirimanne 62, Ravichandran Ashwin 10-0-50-2) in 50 overs, at 5.78 runs per over
- India 238 all out (Virat Kohli 66, Thissara Perea 7.1-0-37-4) in 45.1 overs, at 5.25 runs per over
- Sri Lanka win by 51 runs; Australia 14 points, Sri Lanka 11 points, India 10 points
- Man of the Match: Nuwan Kulasekera
Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.
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