India V. Sri Lanka ODI Series First Match: India Crumble To Hand Sri Lanka A 1-0 Lead
Match Highlights:
- SL won by 7 wickets
- India was dismissed for 112
- SL lead the series 1-0
Coming off the back of a 1-0 test series win against Sri Lanka, India failed to carry that form to the ODI series as the focus shifted to the 50-over format of the game. Having earlier this year trashed Sri Lanka 5-0 in their own backyard, India who was looking to inflict another whitewash on the Lankan outfit came out well short in the first ODI of the three-match series as they self-destructed to hand the visitors a comfortable win. A strong bowling performance by the Lankans saw them trash the Indian outfit comfortably by 7 wickets.
Dharamshala played host to the first ODI between Sri Lanka and India. Starting 11:30 am, the match was played under beautiful weather conditions and a picturesque backdrop making it one of the best locations in India to play cricket. With Virat Kohli rested for the series after having played a gruelling 40 months of intense cricket, opener Rohit Sharma leads the Indian team out against their subcontinent rivals. With five consecutive ODI series wins under their belt, India looked to win this series 3-0 which would have seen them move on top of the ODI rankings after already having conquered the test rankings. Their dreams were unfortunately shattered in the first match itself as a dramatic batting collapse saw them lose in an embarrassing manner to Sri Lanka.
Batting first, India lost wickets one after the other and were in fear of even reaching the 50 run mark as they were reeling at 29-7 at one point. A crucial inning of 65 by Dhoni saved the blushes for India as they were able to drag themselves to 112 from 38 overs. Lakmal tore through the Indian batting line-up as he took 4-13 to terrorise the Indian batsmen throughout their short-lived innings at the crease.
Defending a paltry total, the Indian bowlers knew they would have to bowl one of the finest spells of their life if they had any chance of saving the game. The game started perfectly for India as they picked up two quick wickets and looked to keep the game alive. Their hopes were short-lived however as Mathews and Dickwella played a mature innings to guide Sri Lanka to a comfortable victory which saw them finally end their 12 match losing streak in ODIS against India.
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