For the first time in the series, it looked like Sri Lanka will give some competition to India, as they kicked off the first few overs of the first ODI on a positive note.
The first wicket pair of Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka put up 74 runs in 14 overs, to start the proceedings neatly and Kusal Mendis rowed the boat ahead safely before the home side suffered another freefall, and were bowled out for 216.
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At one stage, they were 139 for two, and it took no time for the Indian bowlers from that situation to drive the boat in their favour, and it was mere 216 which Upul Tharanga-led side could manage.
Sri Lanka needed quick and early wickets to prevent themselves from another loss. They got an early wicket, courtesy Rohit Sharma’s casual approach, but that was the only success which they could achieve, as the pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli only returned to the pavilion after posting a victory, by a margin of nine wickets.
The former India skipper, Sourav Ganguly, was not at all impressed with the performance of the Sri Lankan team and predicted that the series would go on to be played in the same way, it has been played till now,
“They just finished it in 28 overs. It just shows the quality of the Sri Lankan attack. It’s been a one-sided series from Day 1 and it’s going to go that way because I don’t see any respite for Sri Lanka. The gap between the two sides is too much. The quality of the Indian side and the quality of the Sri Lankan side is like chalk and cheese,” Ganguly told India Today.
It was Shikhar Dhawan who made merry out of weak Lankan bowling, as he drove past his 11th ODI century. He played an innings of 132* off just 90 deliveries to punish the local bowlers. Dhawan’s innings comprised of 20 fours and three sixes, which shows that he was looking more for boundaries rather than running between the wickets.
He also shared 197* runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, to lead India to a comfortable win in the series.
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Ganguly was in all praise for the left-handed opener and called him an accomplished opener,
“He’s (Shikhar Dhawan) is a terrific one-day player. His form in one-day cricket has been terrific for the past five-six years. Whether you go to Australia, England and now in Sri Lanka. He enjoys batting in this format, he has got tremendous faith in his abilities. He knows how to pace the innings and it was another exponent of a typical Shikhar Dhawan type of an innings. It was great to watch. The attack maybe mediocre but you still got to get runs on the board, still have to get runs to get a 100 and I think he has done exceptionally well,” Ganguly added.
With this win, India has further jeopardised Sri Lanka’s hopes of getting a direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup, as they need to win at least two games to get a direct qualification or else, Windies will be the team who will fill the vacant spot.
(Read Here: Sri Lanka vs India Match Report)
(Read Here: Sri Lanka Vs India Stats Review)