Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI: Indian players ratings

A stupendous all-round display from India saw the hosts get hammered in the most obnoxious way possible at the Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Virat Kohli and his troops managed to outclass the Sri Lankans in every aspect and this pretty much reflects in the scoreboard. India won the game by 168 runs and took a 4-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series.

Banking on tons from Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli, India posted a gigantic total on the board. For a major while, the world record team total of 444 (England scored 444/3 against New Zealand) was in grave danger. After both these players added their 3rd double century partnership in ODIs, they fell in quick succession and that brought Sri Lanka back into the game.

Nevertheless, a good finish from MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey helped them finish at 375/5 and right from the outset, the Islanders were on the back foot. They neither caught up with the required run rate nor managed to restrict the flow of wickets and that all pounded hard at them. Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana’s effort help them register a total of more than 200 but still, they lost the game by 168 runs.

Here are the player ratings of the Indian contingent, who managed to rip apart the hosts and register their best win of 2017.

Rohit Sharma 9/10

Played the second fiddle to Kohli, but he still managed to score a hundred at a strike rate of more than 100, which is inexplicably remarkable on any day. Rohit’s 104 off 88 balls was a fluent, slick flowing and gorgeous innings which was shadowed by his skipper’s brilliance, but this was one of the best knocks he played.

Shikhar Dhawan 4/10

Dhawan fell very early in the innings, but this definitely was ignorable considering how magnificent he has been through out the tour. He took a good catch in the outfield covering great ground off Lahiru Thirimanne.

Virat Kohli 9/10

Batting wise, 11 on ten for Kohli, an extra mark for his ability to play some outrageous cricketing shots on a consistent basis. But captaincy wise, his move to promote Hardik Pandya up the order made absolutely no sense. Manish Pandey was roped into the XI after such a long time but he was made to bat at number 6, which was inexplicable. That’s one reason he gets 9/10 instead of 10/10.

Nevertheless, the skipper registered his 29th ODI ton, surpassing the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya’s all time tally of 28 centuries. He now stands third only to Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar on that elite list. Ponting is second in the list with 30 centuries and sooner rather than later, Virat Kohli will be second only to his idol in this list and that will be an unbelievable fan boy moment for him.

Manish Pandey 7.5/10

An extra 0.5 for the lad’s perseverance. He was made to bat at number 6 for no good reason, but he made no complaints and stroked a brilliant half-century. He and Dhoni added a 101-run partnership and that helped India touch the 375 mark.

KL Rahul 4/10

Once again in the series, Rahul failed to pick Akila Dananjaya’s googly and eventually succumbed. A horrendous time indeed to go through such a rough patch as the selectors are trying to filter the best ones for the World Cup. Just one thing to say, it’s not a great time to be in Rahul’s shoes.

MS Dhoni 7/10

The living legend of Indian cricket played his 300th ODI game today and he fell one run short of a memorable half-century. He built a great partnership with Pandey after India had lost wickets in quick succession and brought back India into the driver’s seat.

Axar Patel 6/10

Axar was very tight with his line and length in the previous games, but he took some beating in the hands of Mathews. Nevertheless, he managed to register figures of 1/55 in 10 overs, which ain’t really a disappointing rendition considering the required run rate crept well over 8 by the time he came out to bowl.

Hardik Pandya 6/10

His skipper handed him a golden opportunity to bat at number 4 with a good 20 overs left in the innings, but he failed to make the most out of it. He compensated with the ball though by picking 2 crucial wickets. He got his variations, especially knuckle ball right on the money and that gave a tough time for the batters.

Kuldeep Yadav 7.5/10

Only one thing to say, he’s well on his way to book an advance ticket in the 2019 World Cup side. Yet another spectacular rendition of chinaman bowling from the youngster. He registered figures of 2/31 and quite easily it could’ve been more if he was a tad bit fortunate.

Shardul Thakur 7/10

A decent debut for the fast bowler from Mumbai. He waited for his opportunity and made the most of it when he finally got it. He was bang on target with the new ball and managed to register figures of 1/26 in 7 overs. On a track which assisted the batters so much, this was a great way to embark a career.

Jasprit Bumrah 7/10

Bumrah is certain to make it to the World Cup squad and only a miracle can prevent that from happening. Once again, the 23-year-old bowled his heart out and managed to finish with figures of 2/32 in 7 overs.