India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI: This Is Why MS Dhoni’s Presence Itself Is A Gold Mine For Indian Cricket Team

India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI was that kind of clash that we have all been missing during the series and since it happened so late into India’s tour, it was a blast and as fans, we were left hay-wired with all those top class performances.

Akila Dananjaya should be given all the credit for converting this dull encounter into one hell of a fight as the newbie created havoc in the Indian batting line-up after taking six wickets in his 10 overs while conceding just 54 runs.

However, when the first innings started and Sri Lanka was put to bat first, we finally saw some resistance from their middle order as Milinda Siriwardana (58) and Chamara Kapugedera (40) added some important runs to make the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI a clash worth witnessing and taking their team to a respectable total of 236 runs.

While Jasprit Bumrah gave India the needed breakthroughs (10-43-4), Yuzvendra Chahal (10-43-2), Hardik Pandya (5.2-24-1) and Axar Patel (10-30-1) kept a check on the run rate, making it a complete performance by the bowling department.

And then came India’s chance to bat and while Rohit Sharma (54) and Shikhar Dhawan (49) gave a good start to the innings, Dananjaya came into the picture to change the face of the game.

Except, Shikhar Dhawan, who fell prey to Siriwardana (10-39-1), the whole top and middle order went back cheap until MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were left at the crease and India needed 100 more runs to save themselves from humiliation.

However, the ever cool and calm former Indian skipper MS Dhoni was there and he brilliantly supported Bhuvneshwar Kumar initially, by soaking in the pressure and standing against the Sri Lankan spin storm.

Later Bhuvneshwar took the driving wheel as he cut loose and registered his first ever ODI fifty with the help of 4 fours and one six. MS Dhoni’s finishing skills have been put to test recently but this innings showed that the experience and impact MS Dhoni carries with himself is worth a gold mine for Indian squad.

It was not that he alone took India to this thrilling 3-wicket win over Sri Lanka but never giving a chance to feel the pressure to Bhuvneshwar Kumar is how he took the Men In Blue home. MS Dhoni is no stranger to such situation and knows when to take the steering wheel or take the back seat and during the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI while Bhuvi took the centre stage with his boundaries and quick running between the wicket, MS Dhoni, the great mentor he is, perfectly supported his rise and paired up for a 100*-runs partnership.

However, there was a moment which could have changed the final result but MS Dhoni’s luck was by his side for this innings as in the 35th over, Vishwa Fernando almost got the wicket of the former Indian skipper when the score was 172/7.

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Here are some interesting statistics from India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI

• No wicketkeeper has more stumpings than MS Dhoni in ODIs (99).

• Only two Indian bowlers, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar, have taken more wickets than Jasprit Bumrah’s 32 after 18 ODIs.

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar is now the only second Indian, after Madan Lal, who has scored a fifty in ODIs as well as Tests while batting at No.9.

• MS Dhoni and Bhuvi’s 100-run partnership for the eighth wicket is the only second-century partnership for an 8th wicket or lower, in successful ODI run chases.

• Akila Dananjaya became the only fourth bowler to take a six-wicket haul in his maiden ODI against India, K MacLeay, A Mendis and P Patterson being the others.

• India lost its seven wickets for 22 runs (109/0 to 131/7), making it their least runs scored in ODI history after losing the first seven wickets.

• Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma registered their 11th ODI century partnerships.

• Dananjaya registered his five-wicket haul in 13 balls, the fourth-least balls taken by a bowler in ODIs since 2000.

If you are still looking for more in this article than it’s our duty to give you more and on that note, we are leaving you with MS Dhoni’s another quick display behind the stumps and made his presence felt all the more during the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI.

Since MS Dhoni has added some runs to his blade, we expect him to find his lost form very soon and after this innings, he has definitely gained some more time to fully emerge as the best finisher once again.

And for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, could he be the all-rounder that Virat Kohli & Co. is looking out for?

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