Like every close game, India-Sri Lanka tie in the Asia Cup produced plenty of ebbs and flows. In the end, Sri Lanka deserved to win since they kept their head at key junctures while India couldn’t. Here’s a look at five defining moments in the match.
Mendis bamboozling Kohli: Considering the inexperience in the batting order, India were heavily dependent on their skipper in the series Virat Kohli. India were in trouble early on after the out of form Rohit Sharma was dismissed after struggling his way to 13 off 28 balls. Kohli, who has barely had a poor run over the last couple of seasons, once again looked fluent during his stay at the crease. He had reached 48 off 51 without any trouble, and had taken India to a comfortable 130 for 1 in the 27th over when an Ajantha Mendis delivery beat his defence and crashed into the off stump.
Dhawan falling short of 100: Having batted for a major portion of 40 overs, India needed Shikhar Dhawan to stay on for another five overs. This was particularly significant because Ajinkya Rahane had been dismissed a few overs earlier in the batting powerplay. However, just like he did with Kohli, Mendis got through Dhawan as well. The left-hander tried to hit across the line but was cleaned up by a quicker one from Mendis, which beat him for pace. Dhawan fell for 94 off 114 balls and, at 196 for 4, India had begun to lose momentum. Things only went downhill for them.
Lower order batting collapse: In spite of losing Dhawan in the 40th over, India would still have hoped to get close to 300. However, their lower order just could not deliver and India eventually ended up a good 30 runs short. Dinesh Karthik lasted just two balls and perished playing a rash stroke. Ambati Rayudu came up with a confused chip-cum-loft which landed in the hands of a fielder while Stuart Binny succumbed to the pressure. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin played useful cameos, but the damage had already been done.
Sangakkara’s missed stumping: Kumar Sangakkara, whose magnificent ton eventually won the match for the Lankans, got a major reprieve when he was on 30. The left-hander lost his balance trying to deal with a Jadeja delivery down the leg side. All Karthik had to do was whip off the bails, but in a hurry he missed the bails and by the time he made a second attempt, Sangakkara was back in his crease safely. The game was nicely balanced at 141 for 2 in the 30th over at that stage.Sangakkara ensured that India had to pay dearly for Karthik’s blunder.
Dhawan’s costly miss: Right till the last over, India were in the game. Although only one run was needed in the last over, Thisara Perera hit one delivery straight into the hands of Dhawan. Had he held on, India could still have managed to try for a tie, with the number 11 batsmen coming in.
--By A Cricket Analyst
