Colombo: India opened their account with a seven-wicket victory in the first game of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Sunday in Colombo. The opening duo of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan, alongside birthday boy Ishan Kishan smashed their way to the target of 263 with 80 balls to spare at the R Premadasa Stadium.
The two youngsters went after the Lankan bowlers right from word go who looked clueless at times. Shaw cracked a 24-ball 43 while debutant Kishan struck 59 in only 42 deliveries. Skipper Dhawan anchored the innings with an unbeaten 86 stitching 72 runs stand with Manish Pandey to close the gap before a late flourish from Suryakumar Yadav (31 not out) helped the visitors get over the line.
A comprehensive 7-wicket win for #TeamIndia to take 1-0 lead in the series🙌
How good were these two in the chase! 👏👏
8⃣6⃣* runs for captain @SDhawan25 👊
5⃣9⃣ runs for @ishankishan51 on ODI debut 💪Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/rf0sHqdzSK #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/BmAV4UiXjZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 18, 2021
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s decision of batting first didn’t go as they might have expected. They failed to put on a steady partnership throughout the innings despite most of the batters getting a good start. Youngster Avishka Fernando (33) looked good at the beginning but failed to capitalise on his time spent on the pitch.
Dhawan on his debut as captain rotated his bowlers well. Spinners tightened their grip from the very start and it was no surprise that the reliable duo of Kuldeep Yadav (2/48) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/52) were the picks of the bowlers. Chamika Karunaratne struck a quick-fire 35 ball 43 to get the hosts to 262/9.
Brief Scores: India 263/3 in 36.4 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 86*, Ishan Kishan 59; Dhananjaya de Silva 2/49) beat Sri Lanka 262/9 in 50 overs (Chamika Karunaratne 43*, Dasun Shanaka 35; Kuldeep Yadav 2/48, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/52) by 7 wickets.
