Watch cricket video highlights of India tour of Sri Lanka 2024 first one day international between Sri Lanka vs India. Venue of the match will be Colombo.
Sri Lanka was on the edge of an all too familiar collapse against India at 101 for 5, but they managed to remain in the game both with bat and ball and ultimately tied the game. Charith Asalanka, who was leading Sri Lanka for the first time in One-Day International cricket, completed the thrilling outcome by hitting successive wickets off Shivam Dube and No. 11 Arshdeep Singh on a slow, dry turner at Khettarama, as the crowd went wild to his music.
It was anybody’s game, with India requiring five off eighteen deliveries and only two wickets remaining. Dube was threatening to go full spin-hitting in the IPL. He had just taken Wanindu Hasaranga’s legbreak and smashed it wide long-on for six. Asalanka could have substituted rookie Mohamed Shiraz or Asitha Fernando, but he assumed the burden on a field that had previously seen action during last month’s LPL Qualifier 2 and performed admirably for Sri Lanka.
Dube hit the third ball past the covers to equalize the game after the first two balls of the 48th over were played out. With a slider from around the wicket, Asalanka got Dube leg before wicket for 25 off 24 balls. Dube was first declared not out, but an Asalanka review successfully reversed the on-field ruling and enthralled the audience. When Asalanka got Arshdeep Singh leg before wicket for a duck in the following delivery, Colombo went into celebration mode.
Arshdeep was stranded in front after failing to execute a slog sweep as Asalanka darted in with another slider from around the wicket. Despite the fact that Sri Lanka’s seam attack has been severely damaged by illness and injury—nine of their fast bowlers are out—their spin attack is so strong that they can afford to start Asalanka with Maheesh Theekshana. Hasaranga, the wristspinner, Akila Dananjaya, the mystery spinner, and Dunith Wellalage, the left-arm fingerspinner, all contributed to the victory with the ball.
India’s collapse was started by Wellalage, who removed Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in consecutive overs after they had put up a 75-run opening partnership off 76 balls. Washington Sundar, who had been moved up to No. 4, was taken out by Dananjaya, who spun the ball sharply both ways, before Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. Hasaranga finished with three wickets, including the significant one of Virat Kohli, who was out for 24 off 32 balls.
Before trapping Kohli with a fizzing skidder, Hasaranga restricted him to five off ten balls. Rahul and Axar Patel then put India’s batting back together with a 57-run stand for the sixth wicket. After spending the majority of his innings playing risk-free cricket, Rahul attempted to slog-sweep Hasaranga but miscued it to midwicket for 31 off 43 balls. After that, Axar was expected to lead India’s pursuit of 231 runs, but Asalanka gave him a massive turning offbreak, dismissing him for 33 off 57 balls.
Even with Dube’s late appearance, India was unable to reach the finish line. When Rohit dominated the powerplay after coming out of T20I retirement and playing in ODI cricket for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup, India were on the right road. In the opening 10 overs, he struck nine more boundaries after charging out of the crease with the second ball and smashing Asitha over midwicket for six. Of the 71 runs India scored in that session, 54 came from him.
After hitting a slog-swept six off Dananjaya, Rohit reached a half-century with 33 balls. But Wellalage knocked him for 58 off 47 balls when he appeared good for more. On the other hand, Sri Lanka had a more restrained powerplay, scoring only 33 runs while playing out 45 dots. India’s early progress was hindered by Mohammed Siraj and Dube, but Pathum Nissanka’s 67-ball half-century neutralized both of them and the country’s spinners.
If Siraj hadn’t missed a challenging opportunity at fine leg during the powerplay, India may have ended his innings at 20. The bottom order then mounted a comeback, with Wellalage producing stands of 41 with Janith Liyanage, 36 with Hasaranga, and 46 with Dananjaya. Picked ahead of India’s second-most-used bowler in the Twenty20 International series, Riyan Parag, Washington and Kuldeep Yadav both continued to be dangerous bowlers with their fast turn and bounce.
Following a few balls that Kuldeep had ripped past Asalanka’s outside edge, the skipper of Sri Lanka was caught off guard as he guided his stock ball straight to Rohit at first slip for 14 off 21 balls. When Axar discovered an instant turn and bounce to have Nissanka examine his drive to more cover, he was the one who had set the stage for the day. Then, like Rangana Herath did in the past in Sri Lanka, Axar managed to kick up and rag away beyond the outside edge with his sixth delivery.
Axar threw the ball up into Arshdeep’s footmarks instead than looking for the magic ball since the surface gave the spinners ample of grip. However, Sri Lanka’s spinners outperformed India’s and forced an improbable draw, so if the visitors want to win the ODI series, they will need to mount a solid defense.
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