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The ODI series between Sri Lanka and India got off to a flier at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. A match full of twists and turns ultimately finished with almost nothing to separate the two sides.
Sri Lanka opted to bat first and were dealt an early blow with Avishka Fernando holing out in the third over. While Pathum Nissanka (56 off 74) kept the ship steady, he was running out of partners very fast. None of the four batters who entered after Nissanka could cross 15 and Nissanka's dismissal left Sri Lanka reeling with half their side back in the dugout just beyond the halfway mark. Axar Patel (2 for 33) and Kuldeep Yadav (1 for 33) kept a tight noose in the middle overs. Janith Liaynage (20 off 26) and Wanindu Hasaranga (24 off 35) made cameos with the bat but the day belonged to Dunith Wellalage (67* off 65) who stitched important partnerships with the above two and kept the innings afloat until the very end.
India started their innings in typical fashion with skipper Rohit Sharma (58 off 47) starting aggressively in the powerplay while Shubman Gill played second fiddle. The good start in the powerplay was just that. Good at the start, once the spinners came in on a turner, the screws started tightening. Wellalage (2 for 39) returned from his heroics with the bat to remove both the openers in the space of 10 balls and give Sri Lanka breathing space. A surprise promotion for Washington Sundar did not go as planned and suddenly India had lost three wickets in the space of 3 overs for just 12 runs.
Virat Kohli (24 off 32) and Shreyas Iyer (23 off 23) stitched an important partnership but both of them departed in the space of 7 balls. KL Rahul (31 off 43) and Axar Patel (33 off 57) went about the chase cautiously, but Hasaranga (3 for 58) and Akila Dananjaya (2 for 40) kept Sri Lanka in the hunt. As it looked more and more likely that India would win, Sri Lanka captain Charith Aslanka (3 for 30) introduced himself into the attack and changed the game by dismissing Axar. Shivam Dube (25 off 24) continued to do what he did best, attack the spinners, but once Asalanka had the better of Dube, it felt too little too late. India needed 1 run to win in 14 balls when the last man Arshdeep Singh arrived at the crease. Asalanka trapped him in front and Sri Lanka tied a game that looked lost a few overs ago.
Here are the top stats from this game:
10 - Rohit Sharma became the 10th player, and the third Indian to score 15000 runs as an opener in international cricket. The other Indians are Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
1 - Rohit Sharma passed Eoin Morgan to become the player with the most sixes as a captain in international cricket. Morgan had 233 sixes while Rohit Sharma took his tally to 234 in this match.
10 - This was India's 10th tied ODI, the joint most among all teams alongside the West Indies.
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