SL vs IND: Bhuvneshwar Kumar bags maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs

New Delhi: Rising from the ashes of a wicketless campaign against Sri Lanka in the one-day international series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bounced back to scalp his maiden five-wicket haul in the 50-over format as Team India bundled out the hosts to 238 runs.

Opting to bat first, Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed left-handed opener Niroshan Dickwella in the final delivery of his second over. The slower knuckle ball finally worked its magic as the batsman departed for mere two runs on a caught and bowled. It was his first wicket in this series. ( SL vs IND, 5th ODI: LIVE blog )

He continued through the first powerplay and removed Dilshan Munaweera in the seventh over with yet another slower delivery. The newbie had slogged the shorter delivery from the pacer, but mistimed his shot as Kohli took it astoundingly at mid-off.

He returned for his second spell in the 39th over and dismissed the dangerous Lahiru Thirimanne with a ravishing cramped-in delivery. It was indeed an important breakthrough for the Indians as Bhuvi ripped through the lethal 122-run stand between Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews for the fourth wicket.

Milinda Siriwardana became his fourth victim as the pacer completed 50 wickets on overseas soil. And finally, the 27-year-old completed his five-wicket haul after dismissing the Sri Lankan skipper Lasith Malinga in the final over of the innings.

Bhuvneshwar completed his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket finishing with a career-best figure of 5/42 in 9.4 overs at an economy rate of 4.34. He ergo, became the fourth Indian pacer after Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan and Jasprit Bumrah to scalp a five-for in ODIs in Sri Lanka. Also, Bumrah finished with 5/27 in the third game, so it became a first of its kind feat, with two Indian pacers bagging a five-wicket haul each in the same ODI series. 

As for the game, the match-reviving 122-run stand between Mathews and Thirimanne gave life to Lanka's faltering innings. Their total of 238 in Colombo is the highest so far in the series by the Lankans.