Shikhar Dhawan's form and other talking points as Virat Kohli's India beat Sri Lanka
Dambulla: Formats changed; fortunes did not, as India thrashed Sri Lanka in the first ODI by nine wickets to take 1-0 lead in the five-match series at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on Sunday. While the jam-packed venue had vociferous Sri Lankan fans, with tremendous energy and passion, rooting for their team, the unit that took the field against Virat Kohli’s India failed to find both as it suffered yet another defeat against the visitors.
Here are the three talking points from the first Sri Lanka vs India ODI:
1) Indian spinners peg back Sri Lanka:
The outcome of the toss seemed like a win-win situation for all. "We were going to bat first here. (It) Looks like a good wicket. In the last series as well, the team batting first scored some good runs," Tharanga had said. However, India, despite Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka’s solid opening start, made better use of the wicket.
The hosts crumbled from 74-0 to 216 all out as Indian spinners ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up, scalping seven of the ten wickets. Axar Patel, who was picked ahead of Kuldeep Yadav because he is “a gun fielder” and because Kohli felt “one wrist spinner is enough”, repaid his captain’s faith taking three wickets. Kedar Jadhav, India’s man with a golden arm, added two more wickets to his account as the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal scalped two wickets.
2) Sri Lanka’s batting woes:
Barring the second innings of the second Test, when Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne scored tons, Sri Lanka’s batting has nothing to write home about in the four games – 3 Tests and an ODI - that are played during the ongoing tour.
For once, it looked that Sri Lanka would put up a formidable total on the board following a solid opening start. Kohli, in his post-match interview, admitted that India thought they would be chasing something close to 300 after Sri Lanka’s solid start. "They got off to a very good start. We thought we'd be chasing something close to 300. It was a brilliant wicket for batting,” Kohli said.
Gunathilaka, out caught, playing reverse sweep, Tharanga, out caught, on a full toss, Karunaratne, run-out taking an unnecessary single, Hasaranga, out caught, in the outfield while attempting a big shot even before settling in.
3) Shikhar Dhawan’s dream run of form:
“The ball was coming onto the bat like a dream under lights and Shikhar and I enjoyed batting together," Kohl said following India’s win in Dambula. But Shikhar Dhawan seems to be enjoying batting under lights or without it in Sri Lanka on this tour.
Two hundreds in the Test series and now an ODI hundred in the first game, Dhawan, with his latest hundred, has helped India to take 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series. The southpaw, who is gorging on the Lankan attack, slammed 20 fours and 3 sixes to score unbeaten 132 off 90 balls to bring up his 11th ODI ton.
Although he was not a part of the Indian side till a few months back, since the ICC Champions Trophy in England, he has been India’s best batsman in ODIs. While he struggled in a couple of games in West Indies, the Sri Lankan tour has been a dream for ‘Daddy D’. With that 132 not out, Dhawan has now scored 490 runs in the four international games in this tour.
