The partnership that changed the match
After Kohli’s dismissal, Indian captain MS Dhoni – who was in poor form with the bat throughout the tournament – came in ahead of Yuvraj Singh to the surprise of the crowd. Dhoni and Gambhir began to play defensively and the required run-rate rose to 6 runs per over.
Dhoni then gradually started to score quickly while Gambhir was just saving his wicket and dealing mainly in ones and twos. The partnership built by the two began to put pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers and India were now in a pretty dominant position.
Dhoni got to his fifty as Gambhir was nearing his hundred. However, the Delhi batsman wasn’t able to complete his hundred as he was bowled for Thisara Perera for 97. Nevertheless, he had done his job and India were on the brink of victory.
After Gambhir’s dismissal, Yuvraj Singh joined Dhoni at the crease and both players began to score steadily and by the end of the 48th over, India needed only five runs to win. Nuwan Kulasekara was given the responsibility of bowling the penultimate over.
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