Rohit Sharma-led Team India won the second ODI of the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Thursday by four wickets at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid is reportedly unwell and he has left for Bengaluru instead of travelling with the team to Thiruvananthapuram for the final ODI.
However, Rahul Dravid was reportedly feeling uneasy in the hotel itself as his BP had shot up. Notably, he stayed through the match at Kolkata after having medicines. Moreover, it is not clear whether he will join the team in Trivandrum for the final ODI or not as well.
As far as the game is concerned, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj claimed three wickets each to bundle out Sri Lanka for 215. However, chasing 216, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed six boundaries in the first four overs. But the duo fell in the span of four balls. Sri Lanka bowlers reduced India to 86/4. But KL Rahul kept his calm and batted well under pressure to make an unbeaten 64 off 103 balls, and stitched a crucial 75-run partnership with Hardik Pandya to help India win and take an unassailable 2-0 series lead as well.
“It was a close game but games like these teach you a lot” – Rohit Sharma
However, after the win, India captain Rohit Sharma said: “It was a close game but games like these teach you a lot. We had to build an innings under pressure. KL has been batting at five for a long period of time now and it gives us the depth. Gives you the confidence as well at the top of the order for us to go and bat freely. It was a good display of batsmanship. It’ll be nice to have a left-hander, but I don’t believe too much into it.”
“There are 3 ODIs coming up against New Zealand as well, so we need to keep the guys fresh. We’ve got a long season now and we need to keep everything in mind. If needed, we’ll make some changes. For him (Kuldeep Yadav) to come back and play the game he played today, it was fantastic. Literally got us back in the game. They were batting run-a-ball and Kuldeep, as we’ve seen quite often, comes and gets the wicket. He’s quite confident as a bowler right now and it definitely augurs well with the team,” he concluded.
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