India canters past Sri Lanka in must win encounter
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India went past Sri Lanka with no real alarm bells ringing as the Men in Blue bundled Sri Lanka out for 96 in a little over 24 overs after the match was reduced to 29 overs and Sri Lanka was given a revised target of 178 runs to chase. The Lankans made hard weather of the chase as the innings never really took off in a pitch which had everything for everybody except the batsmen.
Here is a look at the reasons behind India's big win:
Pitch: The pitch was not the best one to bat on and keeping wickets in hand was the key. Although India did not bat its quota of 50 overs due to rain, wickets in hand did help to give Lankans a formidable target as a result of the application of Duckworth-Lewis method. Lankans were found wanting in the chase as wickets fell like a pack of cards and never looked like getting anywhere close to the target.
Duckworth-Lewis method: India got off to a slow but decent start by keeping wickets in hand before rain interrupted play at the Queen's Park Oval. The Duckworth-Lewis method gave the Lankans a target of 178 runs in 29 overs to chase which was always going to be a daunting task, bearing in mind the pitch and a slow out-field. Chasing six an over on that pitch required something special from the Sri Lankan batsman, but the Lankan batsmen failed to rise to the ocassion.
Kumar heroics with the ball: Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to be improving with every match and his ability to strike with the new ball makes him worth his weight in gold. His spell of six overs destroyed the lankan batting in which he picked up four wickets giving away only eight runs. Kumar's early strike helped India to put the Lankans under a lot of pressure and they never really got out of that hole.
Bowlers up to the task: The Indian bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals which never really gave the Lankan innings any momentum. The likes of Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked up wickets which made it an all-round bowling show with Kumar at the fore front of the attack. Jadeja gave good support to Kumar by picking up a couple of wickets and slowing down the progress of the Lankans.
Fielding: The fielding of the Indian team has really come of age with Jadeja, Kohli and Raina leading by example and stopping every possible run in the field which can make a lot of difference. The catching was right out of the top draw starting with Raina in the slips who took a very sharp catch to dismiss Tharanga early on.
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