Sri Lanka players celebrate the fall of India captain MS Dhoni © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Hambantota: Jul 24, 2012
Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera bagged three wickets each as India were restricted to 138 all-out from 33.3 overs against Sri Lanka in their second One-Day International at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.
Gautam Gambhir's half-century was the only bright spot for India on Tuesday afternoon, as he scored 65 off 96 balls with the help of four boundaries.
Thisara Perera was the chief tormentor of the star-studded Indian batting line-up early on, which stumbled from 31 for no loss to 41 for four.
MS Dhoni’s decision to bat first backfired as India middle-order flopped terribly, after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir provided them a steady start adding 31 runs for the opening wicket.
Perera dismissed Sehwag in the fourth over at 15, which sparked off a dramatic collapse.
In-form Virat Kohli was the second batsmen to walk back to pavilion, caught behind the wicket by Kumar Sangakkara off Perera in the sixth over.
All-rounder Angelo Mathews rubbed salt in India’s wounds when he Rohit Sharma’s off stump in the next over. The middle-order batsman failed to open his account.
Perera bagged his third wicket in form of Suresh Raina, who managed only one run during his stay.
India’s condition worsened when MS Dhoni 11(26) and all-rounder Irfan Pathan 6(19) failed to make significant contributions.
Not much was expected of the Indian tailenders, as they too failed to provide support to the resilient Gambhir, with India being bowled out for 138 from just 33.3 overs.
Brief Scores: India 138 all-out from 33.3 overs (Gautam Gambhir 65; Angelo Mathews 3 for 14, Thisara Perera for 3 for 19, Lasith Malinga 2 for 36 ) vs Sri Lanka
Catch live scores and ball-by-ball commentary of the second ODI here
