SL stun India in 2nd ODI; Vandersay takes six-fer: Stats
Sri Lanka staged an emphatic fightback in the three-match series after beating India in the 2nd ODI in Colombo. The Lankans successfully defended 240 after bowling India out for 208. Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay scripted history after taking six wickets. Although Rohit Sharma played a captain's knock, India succumbed to spin. SL now lead the series 1-0 after the opener ended in a tie.
SL recover after suffering middle-order collapse
Mohammed Siraj dismissed Pathum Nissanka early after SL elected to bat. However, Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis added 74 runs for the third wicket. Washington Sundar dismissed the duo in quick succession thereafter. Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav restricted SL in the middle phase. SL were down to 136/6 before Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis played impactful knocks. The hosts recovered well to reach 240/9.
India get home despite succumbing to Vandersay
Rohit and Shubman Gill got India off to a flier, having added 97 runs. However, Vandersay sent back both the Indian openers before the 20th over. In just six overs, India slumped from 116/1 to 147/6, with Vandersay doing the damage. Axar Patel (44) and Sundar (15) took India past 180, but Charith Asalanka's twin strikes helped SL. India finally perished for 208.
Vandersay runs riot in Colombo
Leg-spinner Vandersay triggered Team India's batting collapse after they were cruising at 97/0. The wrist-spinner dismissed Rohit and Gill in quick succession before getting rid of Shivam Dube (0), Virat Kohli (14), Shreyas Iyer (7), and KL Rahul (0). With this, Vandersay became the second wrist-spinner to record a six-fer against India in ODIs. He went past Pakistan's Mushtaq Ahmed (5/36).
First spinner with this feat
As per Cricbuzz, Vandersay has become the first spinner to take each of the first six wickets falling in opposition's innings. Asalanka, the Lankan skipper, dismissed Axar, Sundar, and Mohammed Siraj thereafter.
Rohit slams fifty in successive ODIs
As was the case in the series opener, Rohit came out all guns blazing. He attacked the Lankan bowlers from the outset. While Gill took time to settle, Rohit added a flurry of fours and sixes in the first powerplay. He raced to a 29-ball half-century, his 57th in the format. The Indian captain scored a 44-ball 64 (5 fours and 4 sixes).
Rohit attains these feats
Rohit brought up his half-century in the 10th over. He now owns four fifties inside the first 10 overs of an ODI, the second-most by an Indian batter, as per Cricbuzz. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag leads this list with seven fifties. Rohit has slammed 53 sixes in the first 10 overs in ODIs since January 2023, the most by a batter.
Fourth-most ODI runs for India
During the match, Rohit also became India's fourth-highest run-getter in ODI cricket. He surpassed Rahul Dravid, who bid adieu to the format with 10,768 runs. Rohit went past Dravid with his second run in the match. The latter is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (18,426), Virat Kohli (13,872), and Sourav Ganguly (11,221) in terms of ODI runs among Indians.
Sundar records his joint-best figures in ODIs
Sundar was the pick of India's bowlers in the match. The off-spinner took three wickets for 30 runs in 10 overs, including a maiden. Sundar claimed his joint-best bowling figures in ODI cricket. He also took 3/30 against the West Indies in 2022 at home. Besides dismissing Fernando and Mendis, Sundar also sent back SL skipper Asalanka.
Third SL batter with this forgettable ODI record
As per Cricbuzz, Nissanka became the third Sri Lanka batter to be dismissed on the first ball of an ODI against India. He joined Sanath Jayasuriya (2002) and Upul Tharanga (2009 and 2010). Siraj outfoxed Nissanka with a good-length delivery on the off stump in Colombo. Wicket-keeper KL Rahul took an easy catch after Nissanka nicked one.
SL finally break the deadlock
Sri Lanka denied India what could have been their 100th win over the Lankans in ODIs. Furthermore, SL have beaten India in ODIs for the first time in over two years. Before this game, their last win came in July 2021.
A look at other notable numbers
This was the fourth instance of India losing nine-plus wickets to spin in an ODI. Notably, all four instances have come against Sri Lanka in Colombo. As many as five Indian batters were dismissed LBW tonight, the most for India in an ODI. As per Cricbuzz, India's winning streak of 11 consecutive bilateral ODI series (two-plus matches) against Sri Lanka has been finally snapped.
