India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Sri Lanka tour of India, 2017 Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali Date & Time: Dec 13, 11:30 AM LOCAL

Rohit Sharma crunched his third double hundred in ODIs © AFP

Game, set and match

Eventually, Sri Lanka crashed to a 141-run defeat. On a day, when Rohit thwacked a marvellous 208 not out, the tourists needed significant contributions. Unfortunately, only Mathews showed his class and quality with a valiant ton.

The day certainly belonged to India's stand-in skipper Rohit. The way he hit the accelerator pedal after completing his hundred to blaze his way to double century capsulised his dollops of skill.

Lakmal was tonked for four sixes while Pradeep was lap swept into the stands. It was an innings that touched towering heights and he deservedly reached the milestone of 200.

Can India wrap up the series with a win in the final game? Or Sri Lanka will bounce back after this chastening experience to take home the series? All questions would be answered when the two teams meet again in Vishakapatnam.

The lone warrior

Mathews has amassed a hundred. He has largely played a lone hand. Interestingly, this is only his second century in the 50-over format.

Chahal dents Sri Lanka

The legspinner removed both Gunaratne and Perera (on the back of Dhoni's fine catch) as the visitors slid further to 166 for 6. Mathews playing a lone hand for Sri Lanka.

Mathews in good nick

Angelo Mathews, the veteran all rounder, has rocketed to 44 off 48. A bit of fight shown by Sri Lanka but they are so far behind in the game that it will only take a miracle for the visitors to win from here.

Maiden ODI wicket

Sundar has bagged his first ODI wicket in his second over, castling Thirimanne. Great moment for the promising all rounder. Poor stroke by Thirimanne as he tried a reverse sweep and could only hear the death rattle.

Early trouble

Sri Lanka needed a bright start after the kind of pumelling they got at the hands of Rohit. Unfortunately for them, Hardik dismissed Tharanga in the fourth over to peg them back.

Bumrah then prised out Gunathilaka to leave them two down.

The best opener in the 50-over format?

@Fancricket12

& are racing and I witnessed youth challenge age for a 100 m dash. Dhoni brushed aside that challenge with ease. rightfully holds on to his place as one of the fittest cricketers and it is for everybody to see.

5970 769

Sundar to debut

Washington Sundar, the 18-year-old promising all-rounder, is making his ODI debut today. Big day for the man from Chennai. He accrued 315 runs in the Ranji Trophy and took 12 wickets. The young prodigy's batting stance is modelled in some ways on WV Raman, the former India opener.

He received his ODI cap from Ravi Shatri, the India coach.

Purnima Malhotra, ourcorrespondent, observes: "A very chilly morning in Mohali. There was plenty of fog early in the morning and the visibility was low. But the situation has improved considerably in the last three hours. The sun, though, is still in the hiding."

Build up

Sri Lanka went into their first ODI against Indiain Dharamsala on the back of 12 consecutive losses in the 50-over format. It included five defeats in a row in ODIs against their Asian neighbours at home. But from time to time, the underdog will challenge the formidable force and pull them down from the top of the tree. It makes you feel the capricious gods of the world were in favour of the weaker side for once.

On November 10 2017, Sri Lanka didn't just upset their Asian rivals but it turned out to be a thumping win with the Island nation triumphing by a seven-wicket margin and close to 30 overs to spare. On a track that offered enough assistance off the seam and a hint of variable bounce, only MS Dhoni was able to negate the threat and compose a fine 65. Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep and Angelo Mathews ripped open the heart of India's slightly experimental batting line-up. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey struggled to press forward, instead preferring to hang back, leading to their dismissals. It also didn't turn out to be a good outing for the stand-in ODI skipper, Rohit Sharma, scoring just two runs.

So will the Indian camp tinker the batting line-up for the second game in Mohali? From the looks of it, the think tank would give the likes of Iyer and Manish a few more chances, which would mean the experienced Ajinkya Rahane warming the bench. What about Sri Lanka then? After such a crushing victory, the backroom staff perhaps would continue with the same playing XI. Dhananjaya de Silva, who cracked an excellent hundred in the final Test in Delhi, is down with a hamstring problem.

What about the pitch? There was a time when Mohali was the quickest track in India. In the recent past, however, it has mostly been batting-friendly, with batsmen enjoying their stay at the crease.

Incidentally, if Sri Lanka win the second game and with it the series, this will be their first bilateral series win against India in India and their first series victory versus their Asian counterparts since 1997.

With a bit of time still left for toss, you can go through this excellent article written by Badrinath, where he explains how most of the Indian batsmen had their weight pressed on the front foot, instead of back foot which in turn would have helped them to push forward.

Here's our previewfor the match.

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