Internet Desk: A shuffle in the batting order almost cost the Men in Blue the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele but India skipper Virat Kohli has no regrets about his sudden change of batting order as he wanted to give a chance to other batsmen in that pressure situation.
At one stage the visitors were on 113 for 1, but soon they were reduced to 131 for 7 after a sensational spell by mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya who took six wickets and broke the back bone of the Indian batting line-up.
But thanks to former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (45*) and tail ender Bhuvneshwar Kumar (53*) the hosts won the match by 3 wickets through D/L method to give India a 2-0 lead in the five match ODI series. They shared a match winning 100 runs partnership too for the eighth wicket.
The visitors were chasing the target with an ease in the beginning of their run chase, but Virat made a few changes in the batting order as he came to bat on fifth instead of his normal one-down spot.
On being asked about the matter during the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said he has no regrets about his decision to change the batting order.
“When you’re 110 for 1 in a chase of 230, you want to give everyone a chance to bat. I don’t have any regrets. If I had come at No. 3, I would have still missed that ball because he (Akila Dananjaya) was bowling that well,” Kolhi, who was dismissed for just four runs, said.
“It was quite an exciting game of cricket, fans and players must have been entertained. It is good for us to come through eventually. Two 100-run partnerships in a chase of 230 with seven wickets, that’s quite bizarre. This kind of thing does not happen in this game often,” he added.
He gave credit to unheralded mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya, who took six for 54 from his 10 overs to wreck havoc of the Indian innings.
“We thought he was the off-spinner with a good leg-break, but he got four wickets off googlies. We’ll be more careful next time. Credit to him for pitching the ball in the right areas.”
Dananjaya, who got married yesterday only, got the man- of-the-match award.
“The off-spin was working, so continuously used the variations. I came back to the hotel at around 11pm last night,” he said.