'Knew Deepak Chahar has worked hard on his batting': Shikhar Dhawan after India's win in 2nd ODI

Deepak Chahar on Tuesday pulled a rabbit out of the hat as his unbeaten 69 with the bat helped India to a series-clinching win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Colombo. Needing 276 to win, India were in trouble at 116/5, before a half-century from Suryakumar Yadav and a gritty 35 from Krunal Pandya steadied the innings.

However, once both batsmen were dismissed, India still needed 83 runs with three wickets in hand, and that is when Chahar and Bhuvneshwar put up a rear-guard effort, adding an unbeaten 84-run stand to bail the team out of trouble. After India's three-wicket win, captain Shikhar Dhawan lavished praise on Chahar and Bhuvneshwar for their match-winning partnership.

Also Read | Rahul Dravid rushes from India dressing room to dugout to pass on a message for Deepak Chahar, Twitter goes wild

"We knew that Chahar has worked hard in the nets on his batting. His presence of mind and calculations against the leg-spinner was amazing. Both Bhuvi and him calculated it really well. I felt the way Sri Lanka planned their innings in both their batting and bowling was amazing," Dhawan said.

"The way they batted and fielded was good to watch. They worked really hard, but glad that we are on the winning side. Every game is a learning lesson and we hope to analyse and get better. We want to put up a good show all the time."

Even though India took an unassailable 2-0 lead, both wins were registered in contrasting fashions. While India raced to a comfortable victory in the first ODI on Sunday, they had to work hard for it in the second on Tuesday. Dhawan acknowledged it and feels it’s a good learning curve for the youngsters in the team.

Also Read | 'It was Dravid's call to promote Chahar in batting order,' reveals Bhuvneshwar

"I felt that the wicket today was much better and we restricted them to a good score. The spinners fought back and the bowlers adjusted their line and lengths when their batsmen were in. We didn't start well and it is a good learning lesson for the youngsters that everyday is not the same," Dhawan added.

"They will understand how to handle these situations and how to bring in new strategies. The way Manish Pandey and Suryakumar were batting, we thought they would take us home. Hard luck to Pandey for the way he got out. The way Krunal fought in the middle was amazing. Everyone showed character."