Since 1979, India and Sri Lanka have met in 169 One Day International matches (ODI). India have won 99 out of these 169 contests while Sri Lanka have come away victorious on 57 occasions, with 12 encounters ending without an outcome being declared.
Sri Lankan batsmen weren’t at their most impressive, yet their bowlers did well to contain India. Pathum Nissanka and Dunith Wellalage stood out as stars for Sri Lanka.
India and Sri Lanka battled it out to an exciting draw in the opening one-day international of their series at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Despite Rohit Sharma’s brilliant innings, Sri Lanka rallied well to set an acceptable target of 230; thanks to Dunith Wellalage’s maiden half century and three key partnerships. India managed only 101/5 after being bowled out earlier.
Charith Asalanka’s spinners proved too much for India during their chase for victory. KL Rahul and Axar Patel initially led a revival before their lower order collapsed under pressure; Asalanka then came back out to claim both Indian wickets to force a tie and force an outcome he preferred – 1-1 draw!
At 132/5, both teams appeared poised for victory; however, one critical umpire decision changed the entire contest: Axar was given out lbw for trying to slog sweep Hasaranga – that high-risk shot brought Sri Lanka back into contention while Shivam Dube then brought India closer before Asalanka trapped both him and Arshdeep Singh with consecutive deliveries from Asalanka for consecutive lbw dismissals to secure a dramatic tie and deny them victory and seal their dramatic defeat and secure victory for India and secure victory for Sri Lanka instead!
Dunith Wellalage’s determined half-century helped Sri Lanka recover from a tough situation and reach 230/6 in 50 overs, setting an excellent target. At just 21 years old, Wellalage’s performance echoes those of past greats from Sri Lanka and deserves special mention. His defiance and determination under pressure will leave Sri Lanka fans applauding in no time; indeed this youngster may become one of their future heroes! He demonstrated his ability to lead even when short in experienced players; an invaluable performance for Sri Lanka.
2. India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI
On Sunday, October 14, India and Sri Lanka will play their second ODI at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo starting at 2:30 PM IST. Sony Sports Network and LIV app will broadcast this match live as it happens.
Sri Lanka have the chance to secure their first ODI series victory since 2015 with a 2-1 advantage against India, after their bowlers did an exceptional job of restricting India’s top order and restricting them to just 208 runs in the first ODI. Jeffrey Vandersay led their spinners by taking 6/33 off 10 overs – picking off Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill while Charith Asalanka also collected three wickets while Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis contributed useful contributions with bat.
Responding, India was at first overwhelmed by Sri Lankan spinners. Losing wickets regularly with their bat and being reduced to 132/6 was frightening; but Axar Patel and Washington Sundar came to their aid by adding 38 crucial runs during middle phase play – keeping India moving along their scoreboard despite losing both players quick succession leaving only 13 runs available for scoring.
India recorded their lowest total since being all out for 98 against South Africa at the same venue in 2011. However, they can take heart from their performance in the Test series where they held Sri Lanka to a 1-1 tie and showed plenty of resilience against them.
3. India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI
India will look to even up the series in Colombo after suffering a disappointing defeat in the second ODI, at R Premadasa Stadium on February 17. Rohit Sharma and his team have made two changes with Rishabh Pant making his ODI debut, KL Rahul being dropped and Maheesh Theekshana joining in place of Akila Dananjaya – Riyan Parag will also be making their ODI debut.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket that favoured their openers, who took full advantage of it by dismissing Mohammed Siraj within the Powerplay period. Unfortunately, after Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis’ wickets fell, their batsmen struggled to establish any sort of momentum and ultimately folded.
Dunith Wellalage eventually put an end to India’s hopes of reaching 249 with his superb five-wicket haul and ensured the hosts created history, taking an ODI series win against India for the first time in 27 years!
Rohit Sharma’s choice to field four spinners backfired as their bowlers easily overpowered lower-order batsmen and kept Indian innings alive through Avishka Fernando’s 96 and Maheesh Theekshana’s half-century scores.
However, their efforts fell short by 110 runs as Sri Lanka took the match and series lead 2-1. India conceded their lowest-ever total for an ODI at home which may explain their decline against Sri Lanka; their latest loss brought home seven out of nine ODI matches they have hosted at home since being ranked number two globally in this format. With any luck they will do better against them in the upcoming Test series so as to salvage something positive out of this dismal campaign.
4. India vs Sri Lanka 4th ODI
India took another decisive victory over Sri Lanka to seal their series 3-0 and continue the momentum from Chennai. Rohit Sharma registered his 13th ODI century while Virat Kohli led India’s innings as MS Dhoni scored an unbeaten knock of 49 runs to guide India to 375/5 runs from 50 overs.
Rohit Sharma’s outstanding 264 from the previous game propelled India to an unassailable lead in this series and he continued his stellar form in this match as well. Making Sri Lankan bowlers look ordinary, Rohit hit 11 fours and one six off his 88-ball innings while sharing an unbroken partnership of 212 runs with Kohli that established India’s massive total score.
Sri Lanka were never in contention as India’s attack took control early. Their top order fell early but Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne both scored fiftys to give hope of making an attempt at reaching India’s huge total, however late wickets ended that possibility.
India’s bowlers delivered yet again as Shardul Thakur collected three wickets while Kuldeep Yadav and Dhawal Kulkarni collected two each. Ajinkya Rahane and Kedar Jadhav both took one wicket each while Niroshan Dickwella and Karn Sharma made their ODI debuts.
Sri Lanka are struggling with injuries and lack of firepower upfront, with Dinesh Chandimal missing due to a thumb injury and stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedera suffering a back ailment; Angelo Mathews will not play either of the remaining ODI matches as stand-in captain. To know more about sports like football, cricket, kabaddi, polo and many more just follow us: https://sportsbyte.co.uk/