Kuldeep Yadav bowled out his full quota of overs after being included in the Indian XI in place of Yuzvendra Chahal, collecting 3/51 to help bowl Sri Lanka out for 215.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka during the second ODI in Kolkata. AP
Kuldeep Yadav made a memorable comeback into the Indian team after having been overlooked in recent assignments, collecting 3/51 to help the Men in Blue bowl Sri Lanka out for 215 in the second ODI in Kolkata.
The left-arm spinner, who had earlier been benched after dishing out a Player of the Match-winning performance in the Test series against Bangladesh, triggered a Lankan batting collapse by dismissing wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis for 34, breaking the 73-run second-wicket stand in the process.
Kuldeep would then go on to dismiss the in-form Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka and Charith Asalanka in a space of a few deliveries as Sri Lanka crumbled to 126/6 from a strong position of 102/1. With his dismissal of Asalanka, Kuldeep also completed 200 international wickets.
The left-arm spinner, who plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL, was the only change for the Indians in the second ODI as the hosts drafted him into the XI in place of fellow wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Here’s how Cricket Twitter reacted to Kuldeep’s spell:
The visitors, who currently are trailing the three-match ODI series 1-0 after a 67-run loss in Guwahati, keep playing catch-up after the middle-order collapse.
The likes of Wanindu Hasaranga (21) and Dunith Wellalage (32), however, provided some respite for the Sri Lankans as their valuable contributions helped Sri Lanka cross the 200-mark, giving some cushion for the bowling unit.
The visitors then dismissed both Indian openers as well as Virat Kohli inside the powerplay; while Chamika Karunaratne drew first blood by getting India skipper Rohit Sharma caught behind for 17, Lahiru Kumara accounted for the wickets of Shubman Gill (21) and Virat Kohli (4), the latter falling for a single-digit score after scoring a ton in each of his last two ODI appearance.
India reached 67/3 at the end of the first powerplay, needing another 149 to win with seven wickets in hand with the game finely balanced. Shreyas Iyer was batting on 13 with wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul on 5 for company.
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