DOUBLE DELIGHT
Skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit quickfire centuries to set up a 168-run win for India in the fourth oneday international against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The batsmen shared 219 runs for the second wicket off just 168 balls to help India post an imposing 375-5 after the visitors elected to bat at the R. Premadasa stadium.
Sri Lanka barely put up a fight after losing four early wickets for 68 runs, folding up for 207 in 42.4 overs to concede a 4-0 lead to India in the five-match series.
Angelo Mathews top-scored with 70 in an otherwise lacklustre show by the beleaguered hosts.
Debutant Shardul Thakur gave India the first breakthrough when he had opener Niroshan Dickwella caught by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, playing his 300th one-day-international. The batsman was given notout by the on-field umpire but India decided to review the decision and TV replays showed the ball had brushed the bat.
Sri Lanka could never really recover from the early blow and failed to build the partnerships which were needed to chase the imposing target. The highlight of the game was the partnership between Kohli and Sharma. Kohli hit 17 fours and two sixes in his enthralling innings which drummed up 131 off 96 balls.
Sharma (104) hammered 11 fours and three sixes in an equally entertaining innings off 88 balls.
Kohli was dismissed by Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Lasith Malinga who completed 300 ODI wickets, the 13th bowler overall and fourth Sri Lankan to achieve the feat.
Sri Lanka have been struggling to put up a decent fight, with injuries to key players, selection woes and hostile fans compounding their misery.
The islanders, ranked eighth, have copped criticism for going down to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe in an ODI series followed by a 3-0 Test whitewash against India on home soil. Angry fans lobbed bottles and other missiles after Sri Lanka lost the third game in Pallekele to India on Sunday.
The Indians were off to a flying start Thursday, thanks to Kohli and Sharma. Kohli reached his 29th ODI century off just 76 balls with a boundary off Milinda Siriwardana to the square-leg fence as he toyed with the bowling attack.
Mathews put the brakes on the scoring when he dismissed Hardik Pandya (19) and Sharma off con- secutive balls. Lankan WC hopes suffer blow Sri Lanka have been unable to seal a direct qualification place in the 2019 Cricket World Cup in the ongoing ODI series against India after failing to win two matches, a Press release said.
The 1996 world champions needed two wins in the five-match series to secure a place in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over event, which will take place from May 30 to July 15 in the United Kingdom. — AFP