Sri Lanka were dealt yet another blow in the ongoing series against India as their captain Upul Tharanga has been handed a two-match ban by the International Cricket Council for a slow over rate offence during the second One-Day International on Thursday (August 24) at Pallekele.
Upul Tharanga & Co. were found to be three overs short in the match which India won by 3 wickets to take 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Match Referee Andy Pycroft imposed the ban on Tharanga, who also suffered a similar fate in the Champions Trophy tournament in June while he was a stand-in skipper for Angelo Mathews.
As a result of the ban, Sri Lanka have recalled Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne in the squad. Chandimal was a surprising omission from the original squad and is expected to take Tharanga’s place at number four in the batting order while Thirimanne, whose last ODI appearance came in January 2016, is likely to provide the much-needed boost to Sri Lanka’s inexperience batting order. Sri Lanka are yet to announce the captain for the next two games.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are now in danger of missing out on an automatic spot for the 2019 World Cup. Currently, ranked eighth in the world, the islanders now need to win 2 of the remaining three matches to ensure their qualification for the next World Cup.
After losing by 9 wickets in the first ODI, the hosts put up a good fight in the second despite posting a modest total of 236 but eventually ended up on the wrong side of the result. India were cruising at one stage after their openers added more than 100 runs for the first wicket. However, the match turned on its head when Akila Dananjaya took 6 wickets in quick succession to leave the Men in Blue reeling at 131 for 7 from 109 for 0. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar then shared an unbeaten partnership of 100 runs to take India home.
The third ODI will take place on Sunday (August 27) in Kandy.