Virat Kohli anchored the chase with a composed knock and Rohit Sharma injected the momentum with an attacking innings as India reached 122 for 2 by the half-way mark in the chase in Bulawayo.
Nearly all the Indian batsmen, barring Sharma, who had moments of rash impetuousness, eschewed flamboyance for a risk-free approach. They had, it seems, learned from the way Sri Lanka tackled the conditions: start slow, build partnerships, and reserve attack for the latter part of the innings. If Sri Lanka had Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews who took control, India had Kohli and Sharma to take on that responsibility. Especially Kohli.
There was just one shot in anger when Kohli put away a short googly from Ajantha Mendis to midwicket boundary. For the main part, he dealt in nudged singles as he used his wrists to ping the vacant spaces. He used the width of the crease well, going either fully back or leaning forward, to tackle the different lengths.
Unlike Kohli, Rohit took more risks. Some appeared needless. He rushed down the track for a slog against Thissara Perera, nearly hit Ajantha Mendis for a catch to long-on and drove Suraj Randiv uppishly on a few occasions. However, he survived those iffy moments to settle down to play a few, typically, stylish hits. Two stood out for their skill and beauty: He sashayed down the track and lifted Randiv inside-out over covers. He then flicked Perera from just outside off stump wide of mid-on for a gorgeous boundary.
Sri Lanka had three main attacking options today: Nuwan Kulasekara, Randiv and Mendis. Kulasekara used the new ball expertly, causing problems with his incutters; Mendis was introduced within Powerplays; and Randiv came just after the restrictions were removed. And just as the half-way mark approached, they introduced Perera who impressed with his bouncing leg cutters.
Kulasekara trapped M Vijay lbw with an incutter, though the snickometer showed that there was a thin inside edge, and Mendis, introduced in the ninth over, struck in his first over as Dinesh Karthik picked the googly but pulled it straight to midwicket. It was 47 for 2 at that stage and Sharma looked slightly shaky in the initial stages but settled down and, along with Kohli, pushed India to a solid position.
