Zeenews Bureau
Brisbane, Feb 05: India posted a competitive total of 267 runs against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of Commonwealth Bank Series. The Indian camp reached the platform largely due to the century of Gautam Gambhir and an equally significant 88 from MS Dhoni. The duo enthralled the crowd at Gabba with a plethora of boundaries that crossed the fence more often than not.
The duo open fired at the Sri Lankan counterparts at the death overs, amassing more than a hundred runs in the final 10 overs.
Dhoni and Gambhir made their presence felt at Gabba as they blasted the Sri Lankan bowling attack to hit brilliant half-centuries. Their effort was studded with an array of boundaries that took the Indian total past 200 runs. The pair stood rock solid as their partnership went past 100 runs with the batsmen rotating the strike effectively.
The dynamic pair of Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni powered Indian total past 150 runs after the initial loss of wickets that hampered with the growth of the run rate. They milked the bowling for precious runs and dispatched the loose deliveries for smashing boundaries. They built on a strong partnership of over 68 runs, taking a lot of pressure off the batsmen slated to come in later.
Sri Lanka spin king Muttiah Muralitharan had spun a vicious web around the Indian camp as he struck twice in quick succession. He got Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh in an eventful 21st over. India were in trouble with the scorecard reading 84 runs for the loss of four crucial top order wickets. India skipper MS Dhoni walked in to bat as Gautam Gambhir stood solid to give him company.
Earlier, Ishara Amerasinghe claimed his first ODI scalp as he got India’s Virender Sehwag to edge a short of a length delivery into the hands of the wicketkeeper Sangakkara. He departed after scoring 33 runs as India were 80 runs for the loss of two wickets.
India suffered their first setback in the form of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket. Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga claimed the prized wicket as the batsman dragged an outside the off stump delivery onto his wickets. He departed at a score of 35 runs as India were 68 runs for the loss of a wicket after 15 overs.
Prior to this, India master batsman Sachin Tendulkar reached another milestone as he became the first batsman in international cricket to score more than 16000 runs. He took India to a good position against Sri Lanka along with his partner Sehwag as the duo ensured that the team did not lose any early wickets.
The experienced duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag started their campaign on a positive note. They kept a healthy run rate and rotated the strike with ease.
Earlier, India captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of Commonwealth Bank Series. The only change in the Indian squad was the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh in place of Manoj Tiwari.
The Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene looked optimistic and hoped to be a competitive team in the series.
Squads :
India :
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma
Sri Lanka :
Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Ishara Amerasinghe, Muttiah Muralitharan.
