The 4th ODI between India and Sri Lanka is in progress, and like all through the tour, India has piled on the agony on the Lankan players even in the 4th ODI after posting a gigantic 375 on the board in their allotted 50 overs. For the first time in the series captain, Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat. India lost Shikhar Dhawan early, but Virat Kohli was in a different zone from the outset and started taking on the Lankan bowlers with disdain.
He pierced the gaps on a regular basis and began with smashing three consecutive boundaries through 3 different directions of Viswa Fernando. He never looked back and started gaining in confidence as the innings progressed. He overshadowed Rohit Sharma who also scored over run a ball. Rohit also struck some delightful blows to keep the run rate over 7.50 per over.
The duo completed a 200 runs partnership while both also completed their centuries. It was a brilliant display of batsmanship by the duo. While Malinga dismissed Kohli on 131 of 96 deliveries, Angelo Mathews sent back Rohit Sharma. It was MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey who stitched together another 100 runs partnership to get India past the 350 mark. While Dhoni remained unbeaten on 49, Pandey completed his half-century in the final delivery of the innings.
Chasing a huge total, Sri Lanka got a jolt, as debutant Shardul Thakur dismissed Niroshan DIckwella and a brilliant piece of fielding by KL Rahul sent back Kusal Mendis to the pavilion. Though there wasn’t a single there, Pandya deserves praise for the terrific direct throw. Dilshan Munaweera who made his debut struggled his way in the middle and failed to get going.
Eventually, he was similarly dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah to that of Dickwella. It was a strangle down the leg side. Munaweera got a faint glove, and Dhoni completed the catch. Despite the appeal, the on-field umpire wasn’t sure and ruled it in favor of the home team. For one more time, Kohli went for a review and replays showed that Munaweera got a faint glove on his way to Dhoni. We don’t see these sort of dismissals often, but when we do, we also have twice in few minutes.
Here is the video: