IND vs SL: India captain Rohit Sharma expressed his disappointment at failing to chase down a target of 231 runs in the first ODI played in Colombo, resulting in a dramatic draw against Sri Lanka. The match saw sharp changes in momentum, with India on the verge of victory, but an unexpected collapse sealed their fate.
India appeared to be winning the match with ease. Shivam Dube came up with a strong performance to hit a six off Wanindu Hasaranga in the 47th over, followed by a crucial boundary off Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka in the next over. With India needing just one run from 15 balls and two wickets in hand, the visitors looked set to register a comfortable win.
That all changed, though, as Asalanka delivered the game-changing strike from the front. He intercepted Dube’s angled slip delivery in front of him. After the first not-out judgment was reversed on review, India found themselves in a difficult situation with their No. 11 Arshdeep Singh at the wicket, needing one more run to win.
Aslanka used the opportunity to bowl another slider onto the stumps. Arshdeep’s attempt to slog sweep missed the ball completely and the ball struck his back pad. The Sri Lankan players erupted in joy as the umpire raised his finger, setting up a dramatic finale to the match.
Reflecting on the result, Rohit Sharma rued the missed opportunity and the unexpected collapse that saw Sri Lanka pull the game back in their favour. “It’s a pill to swallow,” Sharma said. “We were in a strong position, but credit must be given to Asalanka and the Sri Lankan team for their fightback. We need to learn from this and make sure we finish the game from such a position.”
“The score was gettable, just that you had to bat well to get there,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
“We batted well in patches. Disappointed to not get 1 run with 14 balls, but won’t read [into it] too much. The bite was there at the start and then the ball became softer as the seam wore off.
“It was not a game where you can play your shots, [you] had to apply yourself and dig in. Proud of how we fought, it was important to hold our nerve. But we should have got that one run.”
After a 0-3 defeat in the T20 series, where the final game was also tied before India won the Super Over, Sri Lanka showed promising signs with bat and ball to keep themselves in the game.
India were at 132/5 and 197/7 but Sri Lanka needed a bit of magic from Asalanka’s part-time off-spin to level the contest. Asalanka later revealed that he decided to bowl himself due to the presence of left-handed Dube.
“The left-hander came in, and thought I can bowl to them because it spun a lot,” Asalanka said.
“We felt 230 was enough, although we should have done better to restrict them further. It was not easy to bowl [in the second innings], in the afternoon it turned a bit more. When the lights came on, it came easier onto the bat.”
This was India and Sri Lanka’s second men’s ODI draw. Previously, both teams were bowled out for 236 runs in Adelaide during the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Series.
IND vs SL: First ODI Match Scorecard
India Innings: Total: 230 (47.5 overs)
| Batting | R | B | 4s | 6s | S/R |
| Rohit Sharma (c) | 58 | 47 | 7 | 3 | 123.40 |
| Shubman Gill | 16 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 45.71 |
| Virat Kohli | 24 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Washington Sundar | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 23 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 100.00 |
| KL Rahul (wk) | 31 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 72.09 |
| Axar Patel | 33 | 57 | 2 | 1 | 57.89 |
| Shivam Dube | 25 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 104.16 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45.45 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Sri Lanka Innings: Total: 230/8 (50.0 overs)
| Batting | R | B | 4s | 6s | S/R |
| Pathum Nissanka | 56 | 75 | 9 | 0 | 74.66 |
| Avishka Fernando | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.28 |
| Kusal Mendis (wk) | 14 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 45.16 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | 8 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Charith Asalanka (c) | 14 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Janith Liyanage | 20 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 76.92 |
| Dunith Wellalage | 67 | 65 | 7 | 2 | 103.07 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 24 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 68.57 |
| Akila Dananjaya | 17 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 80.95 |
| Mohamed Shiraz | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Asitha Fernando | – | – | – | – | – |
Also Read: IND vs SL Weather Report: Rain to play spoil sport in the 1st ODI in Colombo?
Source: ICC
