Dasun Shanaka sights lack of runs for loss in second ODI against India

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 12 (ANI): Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka rued the lack of runs and the batters failing to convert their starts for the visitors' loss against India in the second ODI at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
"Not enough runs on the board. We got a good start with the bat and then lost a few wickets. We discussed that it was a very flat deck. 300+ was the score to set, but Kuldeep bowled really well in the middle phase," expressed Shanaka.
The all-rounder underlined the issue of the team's batters failing to convert their starts into valuable contributions and mentioned that the bowlers kept them in the game by extracting movement of the ball.
"Batsmen not getting starts is a big concern. We had a chance because the ball was moving. I asked the fast bowlers to stick to their basics and move the ball," stated the Sri Lanka captain.
KL Rahul scored an unbeaten half-century in his 50th ODI to help India claim a four-wicket victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. India clinched the three-match ODI series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Sensible batting from KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya ensured the hosts recovered from the early setback to complete the chase. The wicketkeeper batsmen scored 64* runs while Hardik made 36 runs. Chamika Karunaratneand Lahiru Kumara picked up two wickets apiece to dent the Indian run-chase.
Fantastic bowling spells from spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Mohammed Siraj combined to bundle out Sri Lanka for just 215 runs with debutant Nuwanidu Fernando scoring a fighting half-century.
Siraj and Kuldeep picked up three wickets each to derail the Sri Lankan innings. The Lankans lost five wickets for 24 runs in the middle overs after Kuldeep produced a three-for to spark a collapse. (ANI)