In yet another one-sided encounter, India thrashed Sri Lanka by 168 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Thursday to go 4-0 up in the five-match ODI series. The result meant that Sri Lanka, who needed to win at least two matches, have missed the chance to qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup.
Team India, for a change, batted first and batted the hosts out of the match. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma set a solid platform for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Manish Pandey to up the ante at the death and help the team post 375-5 – the highest score by a visiting team in Sri Lanka.
In reply, the Lankan innings folded up for 207 in 42.4 overs.
Kohli and Sharma simply toyed with a mediocre Lankan attack. India lost opener Shikhar Dhawan in the second over of the match, but Kohli and Sharma took total control of the situation before tearing the rival attack apart.
Kohli signalled his intent with three consecutive boundaries – through cover, mid-off and mid-on – off Viswa Fernando and followed it up with two more in the bowler’s next over. Sharma joined the party, lifting Angelo Mathews over deep mid-wicket for the first six of the match. Both the batsmen found the boundaries at will. So, complete was the duo’s domination that they appeared to be more troubled by the heat and humidity rather than the Lankan attack.
Kohli brought up his 29th ODI ton off only 76 deliveries by whipping left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana off his legs to square leg for a boundary. Sri Lanka’s stand-in skipper Lasith Malinga introduced his trump card Akhila Dananjaya in 12th over, but Sharma did not allow him to settle down, hitting him for a four and six in the spinner’s second over.
Malinga finally provided the breakthrough by picking up his 300th ODI wicket, when he had Kohli caught on the cover boundary by debutant Dilshan Munaweera. Kohli, who paid the price for playing away from his body, hit 17 boundaries and two sixes.
The second-wicket stand yielded 219 runs off 168 balls. Sharma reached his century soon after with a straight drive off Malinga. It was Sharma’s second successive century – 13th overall – which came off 85 deliveries with 10 boundaries and three sixes. After Kohli and Rohit departed, India seemed to have lost their way but Manish Pandey and Dhoni got them back on track.
While debutant Shardul Thakur, coming in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, provided the first breakthrough by having opener Niroshan Dickwella caught behind, Kuldeep Yadav, replacing Yuzvendra Chahal, claimed two victims.
