Shikhar ton, Axar’s best floor Lanka
FIRST ODI Hosts’ top order show some spine before India’s spinners skittle them out for a paltry 216
The Indian cricket team’s domination of Sri Lanka on the current tour has been so complete that the home team’s slim hopes of a turnaround rested on a change in format.
However, Sri Lanka spurned the opportunity with a sensational batting collapse that undermined the team’s first half-century opening stand of the tour as India crushed the hosts by nine wickets in the first One-day International at the Dambulla International Stadium.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan smashed his 11th One-day International century to leave Sri Lanka shattered. He led the team to victory in some style after left-arm Axar Patel grabbed a career-best haul of 3/34 in a seven-wicket show by spinners on Virat Kohli electing to bowl.
India dismissed Sri Lanka for 216 in 43.2 overs before racing to 220 for one in just 28.5 overs.
Shikhar, relentless against Sri Lanka on this tour after scoring 190 in the Galle Test and 119 in the final Test in Pallekele, scored an unbeaten 128, his sixth 50-plus ODI knock against the opposition. His domination spoilt veteran pacer Lasith Malinga’s 200th ODI.
Shikhar shared an unbroken 197-run second-wicket partnership with Kohli, who was unbeaten on 82 off 70 balls (10x4, 1x6) after Rohit Sharma was run out for four.
Shikhar reached his century in just 71 balls, and hit 20 fours and three sixes in his 90-ball effort. Sri Lanka’s left-handed openers Niroshan Dickwella and Dhanushka Gunathilaka played themselves in on a good pitch to raise the hopes of a holiday crowd.
Dickwella, who top scored with 64, and Gunathilaka (35) raised 74 in 14 overs as Sri Lanka looked like they would at least put up a decent fight for the first time on the tour.
However, Kohli used the spin of Axar, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav to frustrate both, and the two in-form batsmen lost focus and it all came apart.
Kohli opened the bowling with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and held back Jasprit Bumrah till later. Pandya pitched it up and gave away little.
If that was an experiment as India begin preparations for the 2019 World Cup, they had to fall back on old tactics, taking the pace off and the Sri Lankan batsmen caved in.
After a mix-up that almost led to a run out off the first ball of a Chahal over – the 14th – Gunathilaka failed to control a reverse hit to be caught at mid-on by KL Rahul off the last ball of that over. Jadhav then trapped Dickwella, who hit two centuries in the loss to Zimbabwe in the previous ODI series, with a faster delivery. A needless review didn’t help.
From 139 for one, Sri Lanka lost the next six wickets for 39 runs, the batsmen guilty of playing rash shots. The last nine wickets fell for 77 runs.
Kusal Mendis helped add 65 runs for the second wicket with Dickwella, but was bowled by
Axar trying to whip to the on-side. New skipper Upul Tharanga played a shocker, lofting a full toss from Jadhav straight to long on.
Jadhav took 2/26 and Chahal, playing his first game for over a year, 2/60. SCORECARD
Sri Lanka: N Dickwella lbw b Jadhav 64, D Gunathilaka c Rahulb Chahal 35, K Mendis b Patel 36, U Tharanga c Dhawan b Jadhav 13, A Mathews not out 36, C Kapugedara run out (Kohli) 1, W Hasaranga c Jadhav b Patel 2, T Perera b Bumrah 0, L Sandakan lbw b Patel 5, L Malinga st Dhoni b Chahal 8, V
Fernando b Bumrah 0. Extras (lb6, w10) 16. Total (all out, 43.2 overs) 216. Fall of wickets: 1-74, 2-139, 3-150, 4-166, 5-169, 6-176, 7-178, 8-187, 9-209.
Bowling: Kumar 6-0-33-0, Pandya 6-0-35-0, Bumrah 6.2-0-22-2, Chahal 10-0-60-2, Jadhav 5-026-2, Patel 10-0-34-3.
India: R Sharma run out (Kapugedara) 4, S Dhawan not out 132, V Kohli not out 82. Extras (w2) 2. Total (1 wicket, 28.5 overs) 220. Fall of wickets: 1-23. Bowling: Malinga 8-0-52-0, Fernado 6-043-0, Mathews 2-0-9-0, Perera 2-0-18-0, Sandakan 6-0-63-0, Hasaranga 4.5-0-35-0