Not too often teams give up even before a ball is bowled in a game. Sadly for Sri Lanka though, the fourth ODI was one such sad affair as the unit seemed to be in absolutely no shape to put up a fight. Only this time though, the sequencing of events was a little different as India batted first. But that didn’t change the eventual outcome, as the Indian batsmen made a mockery out of the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Bowling first on what was a batting paradise, Sri Lanka struck early by sending back Shikhar Dhawan. Little did they know, that a storm was about to hit them as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli put on some astonishing display of batting prowess.
Both right handers charged their way to centuries and in due course, rewrote a few record books. Once the target was 376, there was no question of Sri Lanka getting there, and ultimately the hosts fell short by 168 runs.
Virat Kohli, who was named the Man of the Match, spoke about the need to bat first.
“It was one of the good games for us. We talked about not getting complacent at any stage and today was a clinical performance. Today was about doing things the way we wanted to do, and I think it is a very satisfying day,” said Kohli.
“We wanted to bat first because we didn’t get the chance to bat first in the first three games and the way the ball came onto bat initially proved that the wicket was amazing to bat on. It was a good toss to win and it was very difficult for the opposition to maintain that required run rate. The batting order can be flexible. Once the guys settle into their role we can look at,” said the Indian captain.