India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 2nd T20I: What went right for the hosts

Owing to the carnage in Indore, Rohit Sharma led Team India to a massive 88-run win in the second T20I to seal the three-match series 2-0 on Friday.

The stand-in Indian skipper scored 118 off 43 deliveries to bring up his second T20I ton, becoming the first Indian and fifth in the world to do so.

Chasing 261 for a win, Sri Lankan batsmen, except Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga, did not put up a fight before being bundled out for 172 in 17.2 overs.

Sri Lanka have now equalled their worst run in T20Is with seven successive defeats.

The third and final T20I will be played in Mumbai on Sunday.

Now, let's have a look at all the factors that went in the favour of India.

#5 Fielding

Although KL Rahul dropped Niroshan Dickwella in the second over of Sri Lanka's innings, apart from that India's fielding was quite flawless in the game.

Despite the slightly damp outfield, Indian fielders made sure that they covered ground and held on to the high catches when it mattered the most. Perhaps, this is what won them the game as any slip in the field could have been expensive for the hosts.

#4 Rohit sticking to his regular bowlers

India went in with an unchanged team, which meant that Rohit Sharma had only five regular bowlers at his disposal.

This strategy could have backfired as when Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera took it to the bowlers, Rohit could have easily brought on part-time spinners.

However, Rohit trusted Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and his patience paid dividends as the wrist spinners went on to pick seven wickets between them and Sri Lanka went on from 145 for 2 to 172 for 9.

This was certainly a tick in the box for Rohit, the captain, as he was not too flustered with the initial onslaught and trusted his own strengths.

#3 Powerplay overs from Unadkat and Bumrah

When the target is steep, the chasing team targets the powerplays and this is where Rohit Sharma threw the ball to Jaydev Unadkat and Jasprit Bumrah in order the limit the scoring opportunities and push the required run rate away from the reach of Sri Lanka.

Both Unadkat and Bumrah impressed with the new ball. Unadkat continued his good form from Cuttack as he mixed his pace and varied his lengths beautifully to flummox Niroshan Dickwella and eventually got his wicket for 25.

Unadkat bowled his three overs for 22 runs and picked up a wicket.

Bumrah was frugal at the other end and kept his lines pretty tight and did not let the Sri Lankan top-order to get off to a flier and this was a good phase of play for the hosts.

#2 India's spin twins

Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga succeeded against wrist spinners for a while but Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal proved to be too good for the Sri Lankan batsmen once again.

The spin twins of India decimated the visitors' batsmen as Kuldeep (3/52) and Chahal (4/52) shared seven wickets between them.

Although it was never going to be easy for Sri Lanka to chase down India's mammoth score of 260, Kuldeep and Chahal ensured that for the first time in seven games, the side batting second at the Holkar Stadium in Indore lost the game.

#1 India's opening stand

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's 165-run opening stand, India's highest in T20I was a vital cog in the Men in Blue's series win at Indore.

They went past Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan’s first-wicket partnership for 158 runs, against New Zealand at Delhi last month.

The skipper went ballistic and scored the joint-fastest T20I ton in 35 balls, then Rahul followed suit with a fluent 89 off 49 deliveries.

The opening stand laid a solid foundation for a mammoth score as eventually, India posted 260/5, their highest score in the shortest format of the game.

The joint highest T20I score was always going to be a hard task to chase and Sri Lanka fell short by 88 runs despite some hard-hitting from Kusal Perera and Upul Tharanga.