Picture Credit: Twitter
The second T20I between India and Sri Lanka proved to be quite an exciting affair on Wednesday with the hosts managing to win the low-scoring thriller in the end. Dhananjaya de Silva kept his nerves as he stayed unbeaten on 40* off 34 deliveries to take his side over the line. Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne also played vital cameos towards the end as Sri Lanka pushed the series into a decider, which will be played on Thursday.
It was a dramatic day right from the morning as there was a lot of confusion regarding the availability of players for India. With as many as 8 players deemed to be identified as close contacts of Krunal Pandya, it was always going to be an exciting viewing for the fans. From some brilliant bowling to Rahul Chahar's brilliant catch to missed opportunities, there was everything in the contest. However, something happened in the final stages of the match which left everyone quite perplexed.
12th man on the field with 2 overs remaining in the match
After India took control of the match in the middle-overs, the match was poised quite evenly after 18 overs. Sri Lanka's score read 113/6 as they needed 20 runs in last 12 deliveries. This is when another dramatic event unfolded as it started to rain in Colombo. The umpires took off the bails and the ground staff got set to run towards the field with the covers.
However, just in a matter of few seconds, rain stopped and everything came back to normalcy. In the meantime, fans also observed India's 12th man of the match running on the ground with a chit in his hand. Although the cameras did not focus too much on the player, he looked like Sandeep Warrier who was added to the squad early in the morning. The paper was notably sent by Rahul Dravid and Co. for the players to know the possibilities in case D/L method comes into play.
After 18 overs, Sri Lanka were 3 runs short of the target with D/L par score reading 116 runs. If the match had been stopped at that moment with no more play, India would have sealed the series. However, God had other plans for Wednesday as rain stopped suddenly allowing the match to continue. In the end, Sri Lanka were the worthy winners setting up for a perfect finale in Colombo on Thursday.
