SL VS IND - 2nd ODI, India tour of Sri Lanka, 2017

Bhuvneshwar's self-belief doesn't quite scream into your face through bleached hair locks but he's right under India's nose, gradually cooking into that all-rounder Kohli, and most Indian captains before him, have craved for. One of the finest fifties from Bhuvneshwar that you'll see in ODIs. With the hope that Sri Lanka are able to survive this heartbreak, and retaliate with vendetta in the next ODI, this is Pratyush Sinha bidding goodbye along with Abhishek Chaudhary, Ramakrishnan, Akshay Maanay, Nagaraju and Sriram. Take care, ta-ta!

Stat wrap
-Fifties for India batting at #9 or below:
-69 JP Yadav v NZ, 2005
-54* P Kumar v Aus, 2009
-53* Madan Lal v Eng, 1982
-50 I Pathan v NZ, 2005
-53* Bhuvneshwar Kumar v Sri Lanka, 2017

Most runs conceded by a bowler taking six wickets in an ODI:
-59 Waqar/ Nehra
-55 Sreesanth/ Stirling
-54 Dananjaya

-This was only the second instance of a team losing seven wickets in an innings where a bowler took a six-fer.
Previous: Zim vs WI, Harare, 2003 (Fidel Edwards 6/22)

-231 is the 2nd lowest total for India to have two 100+ stands. Lowest: 229/1 vs NZ, Baroda, 2010

-6/54 is the second best figures in a losing cause against India after 6/14 by Imran Khan in Sharjah in 1985 (the best ever). Also, the best for SL in a losing cause. (Previous: 5/9 by Murali vs NZ, Sharjah, 2002)

-All the four teams lost the 800th ODI.
-Aus by 7 wkts
-India by 87 runs
-Pakistan by one run
-Sri Lanka by 3 wickets

Kohli - captain, India: "It was quite an exciting game of cricket. It gave us a tough test out there but was good to come through. Was good to see two 100-run stands in a 230 chase and then a collapse. Strange game but good that we came through. You want to give the other guys in the team a go too (on the batting reshuffle). We got out to good deliveries. Akila bowled an outstanding spell. Even batting at No.3, I would have still gotten out to that delivery. It's difficult when you haven't seen the guy but now we will be more careful. Credit to him; he capitalized on the hesitation because we were not reading him too well. He attacked the stumps."

Tharanga - captain, SL: "Disappointed. We came very close and couldn't finish it. Milind and Kapu gave us a good finish. Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar played well. Dananjaya bowled very well. We had a few overs to go, that's why we kept him for the last few overs. Fielding and bowling has improved. Dananjaya and Milinda were brilliant."

Dananjaya - Player of the Match (6 for 54): I use my variations and kept using it in the first eight overs. I had my wedding yesterday, and came back to the hotel in Kandy at 10pm. (Translated from Sinhalese)

Time for presentations.. A five-man (slip) cordon makes the presentation party.

Harsha Bhogle: A great spell cannot guarantee a win. #Dananjaya

11:36pm local: When bad times reign, you find a way to lose. Sri Lanka had it all figured out, having stumbled their recent nemesis India from an unsurprising 109/0 to a stuttering 131/7. Dananjaya could have been the hero of his own script, having punched holes into India's middle-order experimentation with a six-wicket haul in his first innings against India. And then, Bhuvneshwar happened, matching every defence for an equally impregnable facial guise. His maiden ODI half-century not just distilled India out of an embarrasing loss but ramped them to a win, too, aptly twinning with a fidgety, cluelessly brilliant, innings from the ex-captain himself.

Harsha Bhogle: This is a half century of the very highest class from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Calm and controlled. Nobody does calm better than Dhoni. Couldn't it be packaged?

Vishwa Fernando to Dhoni, wide, on a day infested with wides down leg, only fair that Sri Lanka bowl one more.. and this time to usher India to a memorable 3-wicket win for a 2-0 lead

Vishwa Fernando to Bhuvneshwar, 1 run, again tries for the periscope shot to third man but all he does is fend it down to third man. The camera poetically pans to Shastri, as the scores go level

Vishwa Fernando to Bhuvneshwar, no run, he hasn't quite been able to deal the short ball today. That's it. Good shoulders on this short ball, Bhuvneshwar hops into an upper cut and misses

Keshore: I feel that the whole match situation was staged to show us something. You can have all those stylish batsmen coming in and scoring handsomely but at the end of the day all that matters is the one who doesn't mind taking the side home by just knocking the ball around.

Dananjaya to Dhoni, 2 runs, Dhoni shimmies out, sees that he's been beaten by a ball considerably slow and then closes the bat face to deep square leg

Dananjaya to Dhoni, no run, slaps and finds the fielder on the off-side

Dananjaya to Bhuvneshwar, 1 run, tucked round the corner

Dananjaya to Bhuvneshwar, 2 runs, maiden ODI fifty for Bhuvi! Raises his bat to the dressing room, as Kohli stands up and applauds the miracle that 'good times' can be. And how Bhuvneshwar gets there? Reaches across and drives through covers, becoming only the second Indian batsman to get a fifty at No.9 in both Tests and ODIs

Dananjaya to Dhoni, 1 run, flatter leg break turning away - giving Dhoni all the more roon - and slashed towards point for a single

Dananjaya to Dhoni, no run, a leg break with a good bounce, Dhoni hops back and pushes it out

Akila Dananjaya [9.0-0-48-6] is back into the attack

Back to bowl his last over, A slip's there

Harsha Bhogle: This has to be among the finest one-day games I have seen. All the drama that sport has to offer.

Vishwa Fernando to Dhoni, 1 run, flogs it back-footed through backward point, and keeps strike. Just the 8 runs needed

Vishwa Fernando to Dhoni, no run, typical Dhoni-ish bottom-handed jab defence into the pitch