India vs Sri Lanka 2023

'Ab iss team ko mt badal dena'- Fans react as India secure thumping victory over Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI

Dasun Shanaka knock went in vain as the team was continuously losing the wicket from the other end and they lost the match by 67 runs.

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Rohit Kumar
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Indian Cricket Team (Source - Twitter)

Indian Cricket Team (Source - Twitter)

India and Sri Lanka locked horns in the first ODI of the three-match series at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and invited India to bat first. Indian team management took the tough call of dropping Ishan Kishan, who scored a magnificent double hundred in India’s last ODI against Bangladesh and went ahead with Shubman Gill.

The hosts were off to a great start as India’s skipper Rohit Sharma (83 off 67) and Gill (70 off 60) added 143 for the 1st wicket. Both made half-centuries and that set the tone for a big score. Virat Kohli then made most of the platform. There were useful cameos from Shreyas and KL Rahul, but the wheels did fall off towards the end as the tailenders struggled to find the boundaries in the last couple of overs.

Kohli's dismissal eventually cost the team at least 10-15 extra runs, but his 113 was magical. He was dropped twice and he did make Sri Lanka pay. However, the Indian team was still able to put up a massive total of 373 on the scoreboard.

A brilliant fightback from Dasun Shanaka

Chasing the target of 374, the Sri Lankan team didn’t get the start they wanted as Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj drew the first blood in the 4th over of the second innings. Siraj was satisfied with one wicket as he cleaned up Kusal Mendis in his very next over. The visitors lost 2 wickets on the score of just 23 runs.

Opener Pathum Nissanka was keeping his wicket safe from the other end and joined hands with the no. 4 batter Charith Asalanka. However, Asalanka couldn’t help the team to chase the target and got out on 23 runs by Umran Malik. Later, Nissanka stitched a beautiful 72-run partnership with all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva for the 4th wicket. However, both got out, later, and no other batter could really provide anything to the team.

Shanaka, once again, showed his batting ability and continued to hammer the Indian bowlers as he was doing in the T20I series. But it was too late as his team was continuously losing the wicket from the other end and they, eventually, lost the match by 67 runs.

Here's how the fans reacted:

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