5 big milestones achieved in Sri Lanka vs India 2nd ODI ft. Rohit Sharma and Jeffrey Vandersay
Sri Lanka shocked India with a brilliant all-round performance to register a 32-run win in the second of the three ODIs at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
Avishka Fernando, Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis all contributed 40-odd runs each to push the score to 240/9 amid a Washington Sundar three-wicket haul. It was a good enough platform for 34-year-old leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay to register his best-ever ODI spell of 6/33 and bowl the visitors out for just 208.
Sri Lankan wins over India have been rare in this century. A win as dramatic (with India collapsing from 97/0 at one stage) as this one has been an even more prized achievement.
So, naturally, records tumbled left right and centre and milestones were breached. We have curated a list of five of our favorites for you, check them out:
#1 First time in 27 years India can't win an ODI series against Sri Lanka
India have had an enviable run against Sri Lanka in bilateral ODIs. Before this series, they had won 11 straight bilateral ODI rubbers against them (excluding a three-match one that was completely washed out in 2006) starting 27 years ago in 1997.
Now, as the first ODI was tied and didn't see a Super-Over and this match went Sri Lanka's way, India can no longer claim the series even if they win the third ODI. This match will bring an end to that unbelievable streak and perhaps make Sri Lanka feel like they have got a sticky monkey off their back.
#2 Rohit Sharma now has the most 50+ scores by an Indian opener
India achieved 97/0 because of captain Rohit Sharma who was hell bent on using the best conditions to bat on an otherwise sluggish pitch with his high-intent display that ended with a whirlwind 44-ball 64. Although a middle-order collapse against spin meant he didn't end on the winning side, the right-hander managed to take a few records home.
One of them was going past Sachin Tendulkar: this was Rohit's 121st 50+ score in international cricket (across formats), surpassing Tendulkar's 120, which was the previous best for an Indian opener. Although the Master Blaster took 342 innings compared to Rohit's 353, it's still a massive achievement.
#3 Jeffrey Vandersay bowled the best spell for a wrist spinner in an ODI vs India
Vandersay's brilliant six-fer was not only his best spell in the format but the third best spell by a spinner in an ODI against India after two other Sri Lankans - Muttiah Muralidharan (7/30 in 2000) and Ajantha Mendis (6/13 in 2008).
Among wrist spinners, Vandersay's record was the best ever, beating Mushtaq Ahmed's 5/36 almost 30 years ago in 1996. It was always going to be an unforgettable spell for India as soon as he took out the top-four but now it'll stay forever in the record books.
#4 Rohit became 4th highest run-scorer for India in ODIs
With his half-century, Rohit also moved past former coach Rahul Dravid's tally of 10,768 ODI runs (314 innings) for India in just his 256th knock. He's now the fourth-highest run-getter in India's ODI history only behind Tendulkar (18,426), Sourav Ganguly (13,872) and Virat Kohli (11,221).
The 37-year-old perhaps only has a couple more years to give to Indian cricket with his batting. If he continues in this fashion, he might not be able to breach more such records for run-scoring but would certainly help India get into more winning positions.
#5 Rohit is now the oldest captain to bowl in an ODI
Apart from the batting records, Rohit Sharma also managed to put himself in the bowling record books just by delivering 12 balls of his part-time off-spin in the second half of the first innings.
He didn't take any wickets but by bowling in an ODI at the age of 37 years and 96 days, he became the oldest Indian captain to bowl an over in the format. The record was originally held by former India spinner S Venkataraghvan for bowling at the age of 34 against Sri Lanka in 1979.