India and Sri Lanka tied for the first time
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Fans at the Adelaide Oval were treated to an absolutely nerve-racking finish as India and Sri Lanka tied for the first time in history.
The match came down to the absolute death as India needed nine runs off the last over to seal victory, but could only manage eight, as the match ended in a deadlock between both sides.
Indian Captain, Mehendra Singh Dhoni, said: “When you need 10 or 12 in the last over your heart rate will always be up.”
Sri Lanka, who batted first, started off in horrible fashion, losing both their openers early in the game. However, they were saved by the gutsy inning of Dinesh Chandimal, who made 81. No other batsmen contributed that heavily as Sri Lanka reached a somewhat subpar total of 236.
Vinay Kumar was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he bagged three wickets, with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backing him up well, as he picked up two wickets himself.
India’s opener Gautam Gambhir rose up to challenge as he scored a magnificent 91 runs before being run out when he and Captain Dhoni did not communicate well on a run.
All the Indian middle order batsmen failed to post heavy runs on the board and with Sri Lanka’s wickets coming at regular intervals, they seemed poised to win the match.
However, enter Captain Dhoni, who hit an unbeaten 58 to give his side the tie, as he could not hit the four runs needed off the last ball of the game.
Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Thisara Parera both had two wickets in the draw.
Dhoni, was hoping to win, but was partially satisfied with the tie. “I looked to stay till the end. If you have a decent partnership you can stick it out.”
Sri Lanka Captain, Mahela Jayawardene, who was visibly disappointed with the tie, said: “When you have MS batting through it was always going to be tough. But 230 probably wasn’t enough. We dropped catches and misses run-outs” he said.
Sri Lanka will be looking to put this tie behind them as they face hosts Australia in the next game at Sydney on the 17th of February.