Virat Kohli praises Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar after thrilling win over Sri Lanka
Team India registered a thrilling win over Sri Lanka in the second of the three-match ODI series and also took an assailable lead of 2-0. It wouldn’t have been possible if not for a heroic performance with the bat from Deepak Chahar who slammed an unbeaten 69 batting at eight. India looked down and out at one with the score reading 194/7, but Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had other ideas as they took the team home.
It was a fighting performance and the visitors never gave up even as wickets continue to fell. An unbeaten 84-run partnership between Deepak and Bhuvi was exceptional and despite the required run-rate going above six at one stage, they never looked flustered and clearly, the calm heads in the middle helped them win the game.
This is not India’s preferred team as the top players are currently in England preparing for the five-match Test series. But the skipper Virat Kohli had his eyes set on the side’s performance and was delighted to see India winning the thrilling game of cricket. The Indian skipper also praised Suryakumar Yadav for his brilliant knock of 53 runs from just 44 deliveries.
Here’s the tweet:
Great win by the boys. From a tough situation to pull it off was an amazing effort. Great to watch. Well done DC and Surya. Tremendous knocks under pressure. 🇮🇳
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 20, 2021
A missed chance for Sri Lanka
While all are busy praising India for their special win, one should also give a spare of thought for Sri Lanka. They bowled brilliantly defending 275 and had the opposition down on the mat. They wouldn’t have expected for the lower-order to fight it out and put them under pressure and eventually, the inexperience in them showed.
They made rookie mistakes and the frustration on their coach Mickey Arthur was visible. Their top bowler was Wanindu Hasaranga who kept on picking wickets whenever his team needed and ended up with 3/37 in his 10 overs. Nevertheless, the hosts will be keen on coming back and winning the dead rubber with the third ODI to be played on July 23.