MUMBAI: Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli’s inspiring partnership, along with Shreyas Iyer’s fireworks in the middle overs, powered India to a total of 357/8 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Gill, Kohli and Iyer made most of the run-scoring opportunities that were on offer at the high-scoring Wankede Stadium.
Dilshan Madhushanka and Dushmantha Chameera kicked off the proceedings for Sri Lanka the way they would have hoped for after winning the toss and forcing the unbeaten India side to bat first.
Skipper Rohit Sharma struck a four on the very first ball of the first innings to set the tone of the game and announce his arrival to his home fans. But Madhushanka set him up perfectly to claim the in-form batter’s wicket on the next ball.
An off-cutter from the left-armer was enough to deceive Rohit and knock off the leg stump to end Rohit’s stay at the crease on a score of 4. Chameera ensured that the pressure remained on Indian batters as he bowled a maiden over.
Madushanka stepped in once again threatening Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill’s wicket but ended up conceding a couple of runs. Chameera followed up to repair the damage with a second consecutive maiden over making both batters toil hard for each run.
The pressure finally paid off in the next over but Sri Lanka’s misfielding issues caused their downfall. Madushanka lured Gill to play a drive shot, but misled by the pace Gill went early, and the ball carried straight to Charith Asalanka who failed to hold onto the ball.
Chameera created another opportunity in the next over, tempting Kohli to play a straight drive on a good-length delivery. Kohli accepted the offer and committed to the shot sending it straight back to Chameera who got his left hand to the ball but failed to hold onto it. In a span of three deliveries Sri Lanka had the opportunity to get both batters but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
When teams drop catches, they get punished and once again, a similar theme unfolded. Both batters went on to stitch up a 189-run partnership ensuring that the Men in Blue enjoy a healthy run rate as well. As both of them approached to claim their deserved tons, the nervous ninety got the better of Gill.
The young right-handed batter failed to read Madushanka’s slow off-cutter and made a failed attempt to chip it over the keeper. Gill (92) got beaten by the lack of pace and the ball travelled comfortably in the gloves of Kusal Mendis.
Kohli (88) was next to depart with the slower delivery once again doing the trick for Madushanka. Kohli timed it a bit early and aimed it towards short cover, Pathum Nissanka dived low to take a stunning catch. He fell short of matching Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries by 12 runs.
The next 20 overs were a story of short cameos by Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul. While Shreyas Iyer got back his groove and tried to go after each delivery that fell in his hitting zone.
Iyer’s fireworks at the climax of the first innings saw him scoring two consecutive sixes and then losing his wicket. Madushanka claimed his five-wicket haul hoping to restrict the Indian team from reaching a 350-plus score.
Ravindra Jadeja stayed on the pitch scoring boundaries on deliveries that landed in his hitting zone. His influential knock of 34 at the end guided India to a score of 357/8.
Brief score: India 357/8 (Shubman Gill 92, Virat Kohli 88; Dilshan Madushanka 5-80) vs Sri Lanka. (ANI)