Cricket

‘Aaj sabke muh sil Gaye hain’- Twitter reacts after KL Rahul produces match-winning knock to help India seal series against Sri Lanka

KL Rahul, meanwhile, remained calm till the end and took his team over the line as India won the match by 4 wickets.

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Daniel S
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KL Rahul (Source - Twitter)

KL Rahul (Source - Twitter)

KL Rahul scored an unbeaten half-century in his 50th ODI to help India claim a four-wicket victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. India clinched the three-match ODI series with an unassailable 2-0 lead. Sensible batting from Rahul and Hardik Pandya ensured the hosts recovered from the early setback to complete the chase. The wicketkeeper batsmen scored 64* runs while Hardik made 36 runs. Chamika Karunaratneand Lahiru Kumara picked up two wickets apiece to dent the Indian run-chase.

Earlier India bundled out Sri Lanka for just 215 runs. Chasing the target, the Indian team were expected to chase this not-so-hard target comfortably but they were made to toil hard. Chasing 216, India got off to a confident start as boundaries flowed off Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s bats. Chamika Karunaratne, however, got the breakthrough for Sri Lanka.

He had Rohit caught behind for 17 as the batter tried to punch a length ball through covers. Gill began the next over with consecutive fours off Kumara, but was out on the third delivery for 21 off 12, guiding a short-of-length delivery to short midwicket. The Sri Lankan pacer kept the visitors in the hunt by getting the big wicket of Virat Kohli (4).

KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya match-winning partnership

Shreyas Iyer looked good for his 28, but he could not convert his start as he was trapped lbw by a probing Kasun Rajitha. Rahul and Pandya lifted the Men in Blue with a crucial fifth-wicket stand. With run rate, not an issue, both batters were content rotating the strike while hitting the odd boundary in between.

Both the batters took no undue risks, batted sensibly, punished anything loose, and steadied the ship with a half-century stand. Karunaratne broke the 75-run partnership with India still needing 55 runs to win. Axar batted positively and perished looking to play a big shot. Rahul, meanwhile, remained calm till the end and took his team over the line.

The final match of the series will be played on January 15. The Men in Blue will look to clean sweep the series while the Lankan Tigers will aim for a victory in order to end the series on a good note.

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