India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 3rd ODI: Kuldeep Yadav's two-wicket over is SK Turning Point of the match
With everything to play for, India and Sri Lanka stepped onto the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam for the deciding game of the 3-match ODI series. When it seemed like the visitors were off to a powerful start, the Indians kept their nerve and duly stormed back to saunter to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
As the Sri Lanka top-order took the attack to his seamers, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma turned towards his wrist-spinners to restore parity. The duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav picked up six wickets between them to place the hosts in a position of ascendancy.
Kuldeep, in particular, was on song as he broke the back of Sri Lanka's batting lineup by scalping two massive wickets in the same over. The chinaman exponent dismissed a well-set Upul Tharanga as well as the pugnacious Niroshan Dickwella to set the game for India.
Chahal provides vital breakthrough
After being inserted to bat on a fairly placid track, Sri Lanka lost Danushka Gunathilaka early in the contest. The opening batsman paid the price for his risky shot-selection. However, the tourists were shored up by a resplendent partnership between former captain Tharanga and the exuberant Sadeera Samarawickrama.
The duo added 121 runs from 113 deliveries to pile the pressure on India. At a time when his team desperately needed a breakthrough, Chahal rose to the occasion. The leg-spinner enticed Samarawickrama with a flighted delivery outside his hitting arc. The 22-year old's inexperience showed as he miscued a lofted shot to a much slower delivery that was turning away from him.
Kuldeep's two-wicket burst lifts India
The in-form Angelo Mathews joined Tharanga in the middle. With two experienced heads at the crease, Sri Lanka needed a significant partnership to capitalise on the platform laid by the previous wicket stand. Things appeared to be progressing smoothly for them until Kuldeep struck at their heart.
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When the 28th over of the innings began, Sri Lanka were well placed at 160/2. Batting on 95, Tharanga looked set to reach his 16th ODI century. However, Kuldeep dented his dreams by luring him out of his crease with a splendid delivery. A clinching replay angle showed that the left-hander's foot was in the air by a tiny margin behind the crease. The seasoned MS Dhoni had added another victim to his glowing collection of ingenious stumpings.
In the penultimate delivery of the same over, Kuldeep obtained another crucial scalp. Dickwella, who had just come into the equation, was outclassed by one that turned sharply from him. He could only direct the late cut into the waiting hands of Shreyas Iyer at first slip. Skipper Rohit's decision to place an attacking close-in fielder was rewarded by the left-arm spinner.
Sri Lanka suffer fatal lower-order collapse
Jolted by the sudden spree of wickets, Sri Lanka could not quite recover. Their woes aggravated when Mathews was undone by an unplayable ball from Chahal. From then, it was a procession as the lower-order batsman perished one after another. Despite their strong start, the visitors were bowled out for just 215.
Defending a modest total, captain Thisara Perera introduced Akila Dananjaya into the attack early in the run-chase. The 24-year old spinner castled Rohit Sharma with a stunning googly. But Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer registered 135 runs for the second wicket. The duo subsequently ensured that India cruised to the target with eight wickets to spare.
Even though Dhawan remained unbeaten on 100 to propel India to a series-clinching victory, Kuldeep was deservedly named the 'Player of the Match' for his game-changing spell. The chinaman proponent once again reiterated the value of wrist-spin in the modern-day ODI arena.