India won the toss and opted to field in the third and final ODI in Visakhapatnam against Sri Lanka (3:23)
44.5 overes Sri Lanka 215 (Tharanga 95, Kuldeep 3-42, Chahal 3-46) v India
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Sri Lanka were spun around in Visakhapatnam, so starkly that that if they were a cartoon character, they would have seen little Kuldeep Yadavs and Yuzvendra Chahals dancing in a circle over their heads. India got their first wicket off wristspin in the 23rd over, when the score had been a troublesome 136 for 1. At the time, they might have been bracing themselves to be chasing 300-plus. Not 216.
Poor Upul Tharanga watched it all happen – though the temptation to find a quiet corner to bang his head against wall must have been strong – having made a virtually flawless 95 off 82 balls. As opener, he gave his team a rapid start, hitting five successive boundaries in the ninth over. As senior player, he did all he could to bat as long as possible. Sri Lanka were a good chance to secure their first series win in India while he was in the middle. As soon as he fell – stumped by an absolute pearler from Kuldeep – a collapse ensured. There were 8 wickets for a mere 55 runs.
Now, there were no demons in the pitch. But the same could not be said of a certain 23-year old in only his first year of international cricket. India waited until the end of the Powerplay to deploy Kuldeep. And his control of line and length, through a 10-over spell that cost only 42 runs and reaped three wickets, was quite remarkable. The standout though was his bowling slow through the air, backing himself to beat batsmen with dip and drift.
His faith wasn’t misplaced. Tharanga, getting into all the right positions and playing all the right shots until that point, was drawn into a cover drive. He had every reason to play the shot, with the ball wide outside off and nicely tossed up. But the thing dipped, then turned sharply enough to beat the bat of a man on 95. MS Dhoni did the rest.
Then there was Chahal, who isn’t quite as big a turner of the ball, but is fast becoming India’s best weapon against an attacking batsman. Earlier in the season, he made Glenn Maxwell spontaneously combust by bowling wide of his reach. The same ploy worked against Sadeera Samarawickrama, brought in for this game at the expense of Lahiru Thirimanne. The move was working splendidly with Sri Lanka’s second wicket contributing 121 runs at 6.42 per over. Samarawickrama prospered by coming down the track every second or third ball he faced from the spinner. And as wedded as he was to that gameplan, his shot selection was very good… until he played a lofted cover drive and was caught by the sweeper for 42.
More to follow
Source: ESPN Crickinfo