From thinking of sealing the India vs Sri Lanka ODI series with a cleansweep, Gautam Gambhir will have to think about saving it. The Sri Lankan outfit have quite phenomenal with their resurgent spirit, unlocking India’s defence time and time again. The wrecker-in-chief this time was Jeffrey Vandersay, who clinched a match-winning 6-fer in the second ODI. Apart from this, we saw another blistering innings by Rohit Sharma. However, the other batters faltered big time, handing a 32-run win to the Lankan Lions.
Sri Lanka 1 India 0
Sri Lanka, who won just a couple of games at the ODI World Cup 2023 and even failed to qualify for Super Eights at the recent T20 World Cup, have simply outclassed India. In the ongoing series, they have handed Gautam Gambhir his maiden loss as India head coach. After a collective effort saw them pile up 240 runs in the first innings, the spinners stranglehold the Indian batters quite superbly to bundle them out at 208.
Rohit Sharma surpasses Rahul Dravid
Rohit Sharma continued his blazing form in the second ODI, carrying on from his previous match’s fifty. The Indian captain unleashed a barrage of shots against the Sri Lankan bowlers, setting the tone early on. With another fifty, Rohit surpassed his former head coach, Rahul Dravid, to become India’s fourth-highest ODI run-scorer. While Rohit has mustered 10,831 runs, Dravid made 10,768 for India. Rohit is also only 169 runs away from completing 11,000 ODI runs.
Vandersay outdoes Kohli, KL & Iyer
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Shivam Dube – how about that for a bowler, taking scalps in just a matter of 6.1 overs. India’s top order crumbled like a pack of cards against the spin wizardry of Jeffrey Vandersay. After a promising start from Rohit and Gill, who added 97 runs for the first wicket, the Indian innings derailed spectacularly. Six top batters fell victim to the 34-year-old Sri Lankan spinner, transforming a comfortable chase into a potential upset. No one had an idea about Vandersay’s flippers, googly or even traditional leg-spinners.
Indian hockey team now in semis!
India’s hockey dream lives on! The team defied odds to reach the Paris Olympics semifinals. A thrilling 1-1 draw against Great Britain was settled by a 4-2 shootout win. Despite playing with 10 men for most of the game due to a red card, India’s resilience shone through. Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was a hero, while Harmanpreet Singh and team secured the victory.
Sarfaraz Khan new Mumbai skipper?
Sarfaraz Khan, Mumbai’s batting sensation, has been handed the captain’s armband for the Buchi Babu tournament. With regular skipper Ajinkya Rahane unavailable, the MCA seems to be grooming the Test prospect for a leadership role. Joining Sarfaraz is his talented brother, Musheer Khan. The tournament provides a platform for Sarfaraz to showcase his captaincy skills while the team looks forward to Rahane’s return for the Irani Cup.
After semis loss, Lakshya eyes Bronze medal
Lakshya Sen’s Olympic journey took a turn as he fell short in the men’s singles semifinals against Denmark’s Victor Axelsen. However, the Indian badminton star still has a chance to clinch a bronze medal. He will face Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia on Monday. Both players are coming off semifinal losses and have a history of five previous matches. Sen holds a slight advantage with a 4-1 head-to-head record, including a recent win at the All England Open.
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