India cruised to a seven-wicket win with as many as 39 balls to spare against Sri Lanka in the Second Match of the Micromax Tri-Series at Bulawayo. Damp pitch conditions during the first half of the match saw Sri Lanka work hard to post a moderate total of 242. Suresh Raina won the crucial toss which allowed him to put Sri Lanka to bat first under seamer-friendly conditions caused by the overnight rain.
The most experienced batsman and makeshift Skipper - Tillakaratne Dilshan led from the front with a workmanlike innings of 61 from 84 balls (with 4 fours and a six). Angelo Mathews also stood up to the task top scoring with 75 from 95 balls (with 2 fours and 2 sixes). Sri Lanka was bowled out in 49.5 overs with Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja taking two wickets each.
The pitch eased out under the sun and batting was a cakewalk in the second half though Sri Lanka picked up two wickets inside the first powerplay. After that it was a Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli show that left the Lankans to chase leather for 28 overs. India by then were withing striking distance at 201 for 3 with Virat Kohli falling for a neat 82 from 92 balls (with 4 fours). Rohit Sharma helped himself to a second consecutive ODI century, finishing unbeaten on 101 from 100 balls (with 6 fours and 2 sixes) while Skipper Suresh Raina chipped in with 24* from 23 balls. For Man of the Match - Rohit Sharma, this was a second ODI hundred of his rising international career.
