India v SL 2nd ODI: Yadav, Siraj, Rahul star as India seal series

India sealed the ODI series against Sri Lanka with a hard-fought four-wicket win in the second ODI at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. India now leads the three-match series 2-0.

After opting to bat, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 215 in 39.4 overs and in response India finished on 219 for six in 43.2 overs.

Earlier, Sri Lanka was well served by a 73 run second wicket stand between Kusal Mendis and debutant Nuwanidu Fernando. Thereafter, Sri Lanka collapsed from 102 for one to 126 for six. Fernando was the top-scorer in the innings with 50 off 63 balls with six boundaries. Then Dunith Wellalage took charge of the innings as he rallied the lower-order. In the end Sri Lanka was bowled out for 215 in 39.4 overs. For India the best bowlers were Kuldeep Yadav (3-51), Mohammed Siraj (3-30) and Umran Malik (2-48).

In their response, India began aggressively as their openers added 33. Then India suffered a collapse from 33 for no loss to 86 for four. There was an opening for Sri Lanka but they failed to apply closure. KL Rahul and vice-captain Hardik Pandya added 75 runs for the fifth wicket. Together the pair revived the chase. Then Rahul added a further 30 runs for the sixth with Axar Patel. In the end Rahul held firm as he remained unbeaten on 64 off 103 balls with six boundaries. India finished on 219 for six in 43.2 overs. For Sri Lanka the best bowlers were Chamika Karunaratne (2-51) and Lahiru Kumara (2-64).

The third and final ODI will be played on Sunday at Thiruvananthapuram.

Match Summary
Sri Lanka: 215 (39.4)
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Avishka Fernando-5.6 ov), 2-102 (Kusal Mendis-16.6 ov), 3-103 (Dhananjaya de Silva-17.2 ov), 4-118 (Nuwanidu Fernando-21.1 ov), 5-125 (Dasun Shanaka-22.5 ov), 6-126 (Charith Asalanka-24.2 ov), 7-152 (Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva-27.5 ov), 8-177 (Chamika Karunaratne-33.6 ov), 9-215 (Dunith Wellalage-39.2 ov), 10-215 (Lahiru Kumara-39.4 ov)

India: 219-6 (43.2)
Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Rohit Sharma-4.6 ov), 2-41 (Shubman Gill-5.3 ov), 3-62 (Virat Kohli-9.3 ov), 4-86 (Shreyas Iyer-14.2 ov), 5-161 (Hardik Pandya-34.1 ov), 6-191 (Axar Patel-39.5 ov)

SCORECARD 

Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mohammed Siraj

Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (wicket-keeper), Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

Match Details
Toss: Sri Lanka, elected to bat
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Start time: 0800 hrs GMT
Match officials: KN Ananthapadmanabhan, Nitin Menon (On-field Umpires); Jayaraman Madanagopal (TV Umpire); Anil Chaudhary (Reserve Umpire); Javagal Srinath (Match-referee)

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