Sri Lanka vs India, 1st ODI, Dambulla: 5 Talking Points

With the heavy defeat in the Test Series, India took on hosts Sri Lanka in colored clothing at Dambulla for the First ODI, to embark a five match series. Just like the whitewash in the whites, it was the Indian team which came out victorious with all round performance for which the Lankan Lions had no answer to. All the bowlers chipped in with important wickets at important times after Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to field first. The home side could only manage a total of 216 as India opened their account in the series with a massive win by 9 wickets and almost 21 overs to spare. Shikhar Dhawan was adjudged as the man of the match for his exemplary knock. 1. Sri Lankan Collapse Jasprit Bumrah celebrates after taking wicket. (Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The home side at one point of time was cruising at 139-1, with Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis making run making look easy. One projected a score of over 325 at one stage with 25 overs to go. Dickwella, especially, was feasting on the spells from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Chahal. But it all changed after the wicket of Dickwella, as India bundled out Lanka in the next 18 overs after adding only 77 more to the total. None of the batsmen after Matthews, who was the lone man standing till the end, could manage even manage a double digit score. As a result, the Lankans could only manage a target of 217 runs in front of the celebrated Indian batting line up. 2. Axar Patel’s spell/ Tidy Indian bowling Indian cricketer Axar Patel celebrates after he dismissed Sri Lankan cricketer Lakshan Sandakan. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) The spell from Axar Patel in the middle of the innings changed the momentum of the game towards India, with the hosts looking at a target of above 320 at one stage. Patel dismissed the dangerous looking Mendis by deceiving him with his pace. He later picked up the wickets of Sandakan and Hasaranga later to clinch a three-wicket haul. He conceded only 36 runs at an economy of 3.6 runs per over. Kedar Jadhav yet again proved he is the man with the golden arm, as he removed Dickwella from the equation. He then removed Tharanga who was looking to consolidate with the fall of wickets. Jadhav, Bumrah, and Chahal, all chipped in with a couple of wickets to create havoc in the Sri Lankan dressing room. 3. Rohit Sharma’s Bizarre Run-Out With a paltry target ahead of India, Sharma and Dhawan started on a good note with a typical partnership where Dhawan sneaked in early boundaries and Rohit setting himself up for a big one. However, his ambitions were curtailed with a bizarre run out when he was at 4. The incident occurred in the first bowl of the sixth over. His Mumbai Indians teammate was bowling with the new ball when he tried to sneak in a quick single towards covers. Chamara Kapudegara was quick to latch onto the ball and was able to hit directly into the stumps. Rohit Sharma, when he tried to land the bat to reach the crease, was unfortunate as the bat stuck into the ground. Sharma was caught off guard as his foot was still in the air when the ball hit the stumps. He was adjudged as out by the Third umpire. Here’s the video 4. The Dhawan Supremacy Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan celebrates after he scored a century. (Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images) Shikhar Dhawan carried on his form from the Test Series to bring up his 11th ODI century. The purple patch he has had since the Champions Trophy has been making batting look very easy. The southpaw scored the second-fastest century in ODI cricket against Sri Lanka as he brought up his ton off just 71 balls. Dhawan also had the privilege of scoring the winning runs as he remained unbeaten on 132 off just 90 balls, smashing a whopping 20 boundaries and three maximums, at a ridiculous strike rate 147. 5. Kohli’s finishing knock Shikhar Dhawan raises his bat. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images) One cannot breathe out a sigh of relief without seeing the back of the Chasemaster while defending any total, let alone a 210+ total. Yet again it was the Indian captain who was present to see his team through in a chase. Yet again, he was phenomenal in a chase as he too remained unbeaten at 82 off just 70 balls. He also treated the viewers with 10 delightful boundary and a maximum, striking the ball at 117. He now has 44 half centuries in ODI cricket to go along with 28 tons. With help of a mammoth Dhawan-Kohli partnership of 197 runs in 23.5 overs, India created history as it was the biggest win for the Indians in terms of balls remaining (127).

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Sri Lanka vs India, 1st ODI, Dambulla: 5 Talking Points

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