Sri Lanka vs India 2017, 1st ODI: Bowlers, Dhawan Steamroll Hosts at Dambulla

Aug 20, 2017 at 9:08 PM

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Sri Lanka vs India 2017, 1st ODI: Bowlers, Dhawan Steamroll Hosts at Dambulla

India notched up an easy win by nine wickets in the opening ODI at the Ranagiri Dambulla Stadium, Dambulla to go up 1-0 in the five-match series.

The victory as a result of a seamless effort from the bowlers and opener Shikhar Dhawan which eventually saw India register their biggest win (in terms) of balls to spare while chasing a target over 200.

Dhawan, who was the top scorer in Tests whitewash, played the central role in the winning process after bowlers thoroughly justified Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

The decision, at first, seemed insensible. It indeed was made to look like one when the Lankan top three got off to a smooth start. The opening pair of Niroshan Dickwella (64 from 74 balls) and Danushka Gunathilaka (35 from 44 balls) put up 74 for the first wicket to give an optimistic start.

The stand was broken in the 14th over when leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal removed Danushka. However, India could not lean on the breakthrough for long, as Dickwella and Kusal Mendis carried forward the innings by an enormous responsibility and caution.

Their calm approach saw the hosts reach 139/1 before Dickwella lost his wicket after completing his half-century. This wicket was ominous for the batting side, as from here on the side just collapsed and ended up managing just 216 before getting bowled out. The Indian spin attack proved too much to handle for the Upul Tharanga and Co.

Mendis departed shortly after a couple of overs with the team being 150. Later on, all the batsman fell like a pack of cards with only Angelo Mathews managing a decent score of 36 from 50 deliveries.

The chase could have been arguably a ten wicket success, had Rohit Sharma not got his bat stuck outside the crease while taking a quick single in the 4th over off Malinga’s bowling. The ironic, or rather say the frustrating part was that the batsman’s body was well ahead of the line when the fielder broke the bails with his direct hit.

It happened after Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan kicked off the proceedings adding 23 runs without any signs of trouble. It was the only success Sri Lanka could taste while bowling as the “Moustache Swag” quickly took over the chase and took India past the winning line, hammering 121 off just 82 balls with the help of 18 fours and three sixes.

India skipper Virat Kohli, for a change, played the second fiddle in the chase but still managed a knock of run a ball 58 including seven boundaries.

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