New Delhi: A calm and composed Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck his maiden half-century and also stitched a commendable 100-run stand alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Team India huffed and puffed its way to the modest target of 237 runs. The visitors registered a three wicket victory over Sri Lanka thereby taking a 2-0 lead in the series. With the victory, Virat Kohli's tally of ODI victories takes him past Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
Put to bat first, Upul Tharanga-led side took off to a brisk start but failed to take the hosts through as the openers departed shortly a 41-run stand. The Islanders soon resolved to their form of poor batting and inability to weave a promising partnership. It was a late recovery from the hosts based on a 91-run sixth-wicket partnership by Milinda Siriwardana and Charama Kapugedera that bolstered their total to 236 runs at the loss of eight wickets.
Staring at a modest total of 237, the Indian opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma stitched a 109-run stand and the hosts were well assured of yet another win in the series. Until an unanticipated hurricane named Akila Dananjaya struck to wreak havoc. Rohit, then KL Rahul, then Virat, then Kedar Jadhav and within moments the entire Indian side squandered to seven down. There was a certain dismay among the fans. MS Dhoni was at the crease alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Not many would have expected and Indian victory at Pallekele tonight. But they carved a miracle comfortably cruising the Indian ship through the formidable waves.
Bhuvi struck his maiden fifty, fifth Indian batsman to do so batting at No. 9 or lower while Dhoni held onto his wicket guiding the amateur through as the Men in Blue registered their second victory in the series. Ergo, Team India are now up by 2-0 in the five-match ODI series.
The victory at Pallekele takes Virat Kohli's tally to 24 ODI victories from 32 matches as a captain, thereby edging past Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 23 from 73 matches. He now stands fifth on the list behind – Mohammad Azharuddin (90), Sourav Ganguly (76), Dhoni (74 wins), Rahul Dravid (42) and Kapil Dev (39).
Adding to it, Virat has now equalled the tally of Windies legend Clive Lloyd and former Aussie cricketer Michael Clarke. All three of them have 24 victories in their first 32 ODIs as a skipper. Leading the list is however, Viv Richards with 26 victories, followed by Ricky Ponting with 25 wins.
