India vs Sri Lanka 2016, 2nd ODI at Ranchi: Shikhar Dhawan’s 51, Thisara Perera’s hat-trick and other highlights

Following a shocking defeat in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) at Pune, India came up wnith a stellar performance to tame the Sri Lankans by 69 runs in the second of the three-match T20I series at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi on Friday, and levelled the series 1-1 and the decider will be played at Vishakapatnam on Sunday. Nevertheless, the match was filled with some thrilling action as both the teams produced some talking points. Ayush Gupta takes his time out and analyses the highlights from India’s series levelling tie. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Ranchi

Rohit Sharma’s healthy knock of 43: The hard-hitting Indian opener played a crucial knock of 43 at 119.44, which gave India a perfect start , as he smacked the ball all over the park, before falling to Dushmantha Chameera. His innings included a couple of boundaries and a six.

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Shaikhar Dhawan’s maiden T20I fifty: The Indian opener was at his best as he played one of the best T20I innings of his career and also brought up his maiden T20I half-century, as he along with Rohit gave India the perfect start. He fell for 51 to Chameera again. He hit seven boundaries and a couple of sixes and was striking at 204. Full Cricket Blog and Updates, India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Ranchi

Rohit-Dhawan’s opening stand: The pair, who went on to an explosive start, especially in the powerplay overs, gave India the perfect start to the game, unlike in Pune. Both the batsmen smacked it all over the park and put up a highly crucial 75-run opening stand, before Rohit, who fell for 43 to Chameera in the seventh over.

Thisara Perera’s maiden international hat-trick: The Sri Lankan all-rounder  claimed three crucial wickets in three consecutive deliveries, to halt India’s accelerating scoreboard. He claimed wickets of Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina and hard-hitting Yuvraj Singh in the 19th over to achieve the landmark. He also became the first Sri Lankan to claim a T20I hat-trick, the fourth in the world in T20I and also the first man to claim a T20I hat-trick on Indian soil. However, his hat-trick too couldn’t bring joy to the Lankans as the batsmen had already done the damage. Thisara Perera claims hattrick against India in 2nd T20I at Ranchi

Chamara Kapugedara’s fightback: Although Sri Lanka could hardly do anything with the bat, it was the middle-order batsman Chamara Kapugedara, who tried to put on a fight as he played his knock of 32 gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope before falling to Ravindra Jadeja in the 12th over.

Dinesh Chandimal-Kapugedara’s partnership of 52: Kapugedara was not alone. Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 31, and tried to give the Indians some fight. Both the batsmen put up a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket, before Chandimal fell in the 12th over to Jadeja.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s match-winning spell of 3 for 14: Among the Indian bowlers, most of the bowlers contributed well. However, it was once again their star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was the best of the lot and claimed three crucial wickets to put the Lankan batsmen on the back foot. He claimed three wickets for just 14 in his quota of four overs, which also included 12 dot balls,  with wickets of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dasun Shanaka and Perera.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)