India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 2nd ODI: What went right for the hosts

The Rohit Sharma-led Team India hit back at Sri Lanka with vengeance, after a mortifying defeat at Dharamshala, to win comprehensively by 141 runs at Mohali on Wednesday.

Thisara Perera won the toss and invited the Men in Blue to bat on a track which appeared to have a bit of spice at the outset. But, this proved to be a mere illusion as the Indian batting pulverised the visitors at the PCA stadium.

Riding on Rohit's 16th ODI century, the hosts posted 392/4 in 50 overs, but in response, the visitors could manage just 251/8.

The three-match ODI series is now levelled at 1-1 and the deciding final ODI will be played at Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Now, let's have a look at everything that went right for Rohit Sharma's men as they emerged victorious in the must-win game at Mohali.

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#5 Cautious start against the new ball

Sri Lanka pacer Suranga Lakmal wreaked havoc with the new ball in the swinging conditions at Dharamshala to take a 1-0 lead in the series on Sunday.

India were put in the same situation by Thisara Perera on Wednesday, but the outcome was a striking contrast of the what had happened three days ago.

Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma faced the new ball with extra caution in the first Powerplay, to lay the strong foundation for a colossal score of 392.

India, who scored just 33 off the first 10 overs, followed their familiar template of going slow in the Powerplay to build in the middle and explode at the death.

Seeing off the new ball and waiting for the opportune moment to pounce was indeed a masterstroke.

#4 Strong opening partnership

It is almost inevitable for the opening batsmen to provide a strong platform for a team to score big in the fifty-over format of the game.

Rohit Sharma (208*) and Shikhar Dhawan (68), who failed in the first ODI, learned from their mistakes as they added 115 runs for the first wicket.

Dhawan was the aggressor and Rohit played second fiddle and this worked out perfectly for India as the bowlers were always kept guessing right from the beginning.

The hosts, who were dismissed for 112 in 38.2 overs at the HPCA stadium did not lose any wicket till the 22nd over and that proved to be a major factor in India's sweeping win.

#3 Excellent second-wicket partnership

Rohit Sharma, who carried the bat through his innings of 208*, was involved in two big partnerships, one with Shikhar Dhawan, another with Shreyas Iyer, on Wednesday.

Playing in his second match, Iyer turned out to be a dependable partner for hard-hitting Rohit, as they added 213 runs for the second wicket at Mohali.

Iyer, before being claimed by Nuwan Pradeep, scored 88 off 70 balls to bring up his maiden ODI fifty. However, even when he was dismissed, he looked to score runs and this augurs well for the Indian team.

The 23-year-old, number three batsman played a calm and composed inning as Rohit took the Lankan bowlers to the cleaners smashing 12 sixes and 13 boundaries.

#2 Tight performances from the Indian bowlers

Indian bowlers ensured that they did not let the excellent work put in by their batsmen slip away as they stuck to their plans and kept it tight with the new ball.

They never allowed the Sri Lankan batsmen any leeway, which forced the visitors to take risks and lose their wickets.

This ensured that the visitors were always behind on the required run rate and at no point during the chase did they manage to grab the momentum.

The Indian pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were brilliant and were backed ably by Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs.

The wickets were shared between the five bowlers and this never allowed the visitors to get off the hook.

#1 Captain's knock!

Rohit Sharma, whose first outing as India captain was a nothing short of a disaster, smashed his third double hundred in ODIs to propel the hosts to a mammoth 392/4 in 50 overs.

Rohit, who brought up his first hundred runs at strike rate was 86.96, accelerated the innings in a brilliant fashion, to get to his second century off 36 balls at a staggering rate of 277.78.

Rohit, whose 264 at Eden Gardens still remains the individual highest score by a batsman in 50-over cricket, became the first man on the planet to hit three double tons.

Chasing 393 for the win, Sri Lanka were never in the game as they fell short by 141 runs and Rohit registered his first victory as India captain.