Team India have continued their exceptional display in the Island nation and after whitewashing the hosts by a 3-0 margin in the Test series, the Men in Blue have begun with a resounding victory even in the limited overs series as India outplayed the Lankans by 9 wickets and with more than 22 overs to spare. It was a brilliant display of batsmanship by Shikhar Dhawan who remained unbeaten on 132 and captain Virat Kohli who was not out on 83.
Earlier in the day, the bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict the hosts to a moderate total of 216 in 43 overs. After getting off to a brilliant start provided by Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka, the Lankans faltered in the middle overs and kept losing wickets at a consistent basis. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel who made a comeback to the national team bagged 3 wickets and was the wrecker-in-chief while Kedar Jadhav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jaspirt Bumrah returned with a couple of wickets each.
Meanwhile, India might be tempted to make a few changes for the 2nd ODI keeping in mind the broader context in play with the 2019 World Cup scheduled in two years time. Captain Virat Kohli had made it clear prior to the opening ODI that the team will be making lots of changes and keeping that in time Ajinkya Rahane might well get a look in for the 2nd ODI.
In a tweet posted by the official handle of Board of Control for Cricket in India on Twitter, Ajinkya Rahane can be seen practicing at the nets which might be signs that he is ready for a comeback in the 2nd ODI but at whose expense Rahane gets a chance remains to be seen. “Batsman @ajinkyarahane88 is all set for the net session ahead of the 2nd ODI at Kandy #SLvIND”, the tweet from BCCI read.
https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/899930903375249408