IND vs SL 2024: 3 players who starred and 2 who flopped in the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI match ft. Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma
Sri Lanka finally managed to get over the line as they beat India by 32 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, August 4. After Charith Asalanka won the toss and elected to bat, his batters put up a spirited display before the spinners took over in the second innings.
With the win, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The opening game ended in a tie, meaning that India could no longer win the rubber outright. There weren't many notable performances from the Men in Blue, although a couple of players did shine.
On that note, here are three players who starred and two who flopped in the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka.
#5 Star - Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has ascended to a different plane over the last few years in ODI cricket. The Indian skipper has been a destructive force at the top of the order and has consistently given his team great starts. The same pattern continued in the second ODI on Sunday.
Confronted with a tricky chase, Rohit got off the blocks quickly once again. He imposed his will upon the Sri Lankan fast bowlers and brought the spinners into the game early, after which he managed to clear the infield with ease.
One shot too many brought about his downfall, but not before he had given India a great start and put them well ahead of the required run rate.
#4 Flop - Arshdeep Singh
For the second game running, Arshdeep Singh turned in a disappointing display. This time around, he wasn't penetrative at any stage of the innings and didn't bowl the right lines and lengths.
Arshdeep was easily India's most expensive bowler on the night and conceded 58 runs in his nine-over spell. Instead of resorting to cutters and slower ones, he kept bowling pace-on full and short deliveries that were easily countered by the Sri Lankan batters.
#3 Star - Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar has been heavily involved with Team India over the last month or so. Gautam Gambhir has faith in the young all-rounder, who was the pick of the Indian bowlers on Sunday.
Sundar picked up three wickets and was the side's most economical bowler. He kept things tight and attacked the stumps while also extracting the right amount of turn from the surface.
Sundar also attempted to hang around with the bat for a while, but it was only a matter of time.
#2 Flop - Virat Kohli
A usually prolific run-scorer in Colombo, Virat Kohli has looked rusty in the series so far. The Indian No. 3 batter played a few risky shots before one finally trapped him in front.
Kohli is usually extremely reliable in tough conditions, but he hasn't been anywhere close to his imperious best. India needed him to carry on from where Rohit and Shubman Gill left off, but his dismissal triggered a rapid collapse.
#1 Star - Axar Patel
Axar Patel got only one wicket to show for despite beating the bat plenty of times. While the left-arm spinner could have done better in terms of providing breakthroughs, he was accurate and didn't give runs away.
Axar's solid technique against spin came to the fore in the second innings as he waged a lone battle amid a failing middle order. He tried to counter-attack whenever possible and seemed fairly assured in defense.