India suffered a shocking defeat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday (August 4), conceding a 0-1 lead in the three-match series.

With the curtain-raiser controversially ending in a tie, Sri Lanka opted to bat first after winning the toss in the second ODI. No Sri Lanka batter reached a fifty, but a collective effort from Avishka Fernando (40 off 62 balls), Dunith Wellalage (39 off 35), and Kamindu Mendis (40 off 44) meant the hosts racked up a competitive total of 240 runs on the board.

Much like the first match, India started their chase strongly before losing their way thereafter. Another blazing innings from Rohit Sharma (64 off 44) took the hosts to 97-0 in the 14th over.

But then, Jeffrey Vandersay, coming in as a replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, triggered a collapse. The leg-spinner took the first six wickets, reducing India to 147-6. India couldn’t recover from the cluster of wickets and succumbed to a 32-run defeat. Sri Lanka last won an ODI over India in July 2021 and a bilateral series in August 1997.

Following the result, congratulatory messages poured in for Sri Lanka and Vandersay on social media, while many rued India’s loss. India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar termed the result a "shock" during the post-match press conference. "Was it a shock? I would say yes, there is a surprise," Nayar said. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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