Great fielding effort from Kamindu Mendis, from the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team, who takes an absolute screamer to dismiss Shubman Gill, the vice-captain of the India National Cricket Team. This came in the second one-day international game between these two cricketing giants as part of the three-match series. The second one-day international was played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with Charith Asalanka captaining the hosts against Rohit Sharma’s men.
The home side entered the field for this second day with a lot of raised confidence, having pulled off that opening series from a highly improbable position with Asalanka at the forefront. To be honest, the way they started the series was quite commendable, with a few star guys like Pathum Nissanka and Dunith Wellalage, who scored a half-century each, being the biggest contribution towards a respectable 230/8 from the struggling 74/4.
WATCH – Charith Asalanka’s Stunning Catch Dismisses Axar Patel In Crucial Moment
Sri Lanka, at least in the first ODI, brought out their bowling performance. Although the Indian batting seemed settled, the Sri Lankan bowlers made a comeback by taking wickets at crucial intervals. They reduced a strong Indian batting lineup to be bowled out for just 230 runs in 47.5 overs, thus dramatically tying the match.
Kamindu Mendis grabs a blinder to send Shubman Gill packing 🤯
Watch the action from #SLvIND LIVE now on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3, Sony Sports Ten 4 & Sony Sports Ten 5 📺#SonySportsNetwork pic.twitter.com/4ChJC2i6BG
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 4, 2024
Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first in the second ODI. Their innings was jolted by a wicket on the very first ball but later recovered nicely to post a respectable total of 240 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. This was a solid team effort; contributions from different batsmen here helped in setting a challenging target for India.
Shubman Gill, known for his conservative approach, was at the start with his aggressive opening mate, Rohit Sharma. The former had settled down and was looking good for some score, but unfortunately, a knock in the 18th over got him 35 runs off 44 balls, including 3 boundaries. Lately, Gill has been criticized a lot for converting the starts he’s been getting into big scores.
WATCH – Pathum Nissanka’s Stunning Catch Ends Rohit Sharma’s Explosive Innings
That was some catch from Kamindu Mendis, who fielded it at slips for the dismissal of Gill. Flighted delivery from Jeffrey Vandersay, spinning away wide outside off stump. Gill reaches forward in the drive but gets a thick outside edge. The ball flew towards the right of the slip, and there came Mendis, with remarkable agility, in the one-handed catch he completed, ending Gil’s innings and sending him back to the pavilion. That was an extraordinary fielding effort, and Mendis showed that he was worth his salts within the Sri Lankan team, and why fielding on toes is the need of the hour in changing the course of a possible match.