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Sun, 20 August 2017
1st ODI: India beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to take series lead

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20:36   Dhawan, Kohli star in opening win of ODI series


India 220-1 (28.5 ovs) vs Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs)  | Scorecard

India beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to start the ODI series with a bang.

Dhawan and Kohli stitched up a 197-run partnership as India cruised to victory.

Spinner Hasaranga is brought back into the attack and India complete the chase with ease.

Dhawan scores the winning runs with a boundary down the ground.
The last ball of that Malinga over is bludgeoned for a four straight down the ground by Kohli.

India now need 3 runs for victory.

With 11 runs needed in 22 overs, India are running away with the game here. 

India have totally dominated the Lankans in this chase. 


Both batsmen are now tearing the bowling. The runs are coming thick and fast. 

200 comes up in the 27th over. 

The Lankan bowlers are being treated with utter disdain and there is no semblance of a fight put up by the hosts.

The hosts are just resigned to their fate now.

Malinga brought back into the attack and nearly gets the wicket of Dhawan. Dhawan goes for the big hoick and is put down in the deep. 


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20:13   Kohli also hits half-century as India cruise

India 163-1 (23 ovs) vs Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs)  | Scorecard


Kohli gets to his 14th ODI 50 with a single.

Upul Tharanaga looks upset with his bowler who bowls a freebie to Kohli. The batsman dispatches the ball for a boundary.


Kohli and Dhawan scoring at will. No need for them to take unnecessary risks and that is exactly what they are doing. 

Dhawan just creams the bowling and India bring up the 150 in the 22nd over.

He then sends Fernando for a boundary to third man to get to his century -- that is 100 off just 77 deliveries!

Both batsmen have toyed with the bowling while the Lankan bowlers have come up short against the mighty Indians.
19:41   India cruise



India 104-1 (15 ovs) vs Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs)  | Scorecard


Sandakan continues and Dhawan comes down the track and hammers the ball past cover for a four.

Both batsmen take a run each and Dhawan ends the over with an audacious boundary reverse  sweeping for a boundary down to third man.

India are in cruise control as none of the bowlers are getting the desired results.

Malinga continues, Kohli punches it on the up for a single on the off side.

Dhawan gets a top edge and hooks the ball for a six.

Dhawan ends the over with a run down to the leg side.  

Lanka bring on chinaman bowler Sandakan and he is launched by  Dhawan for a huge six. He takes 8 runs off the over.

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19:25   India scoring at over 6 runs an over

India 71-1 (11 ovs) vs Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs)  | Scorecard


Mathews continues and Kohli starts with a four. He does well to give away just another 3 runs. 

Thisara Perera replaces Fernando at the other end and as soon as he strays, Kohli just times it to perfection down to the mid-on boundary..

It looks like Kohli is regaining his lost touvh. 

Dhawan continues the assault at the other end and cuts him for another boundary and 13 runs come off the over.

Sri Lanka make the first bowling change and Angelo Mathews gets the ball. 

The former Lanka captain starts off well by giving away just 2 runs in his opening over.

India captain Virat Kohli and opener Dhawan are on song here, They are particularly harsh on new man Fernando who has now been taken for 28 runs off his first four overs.
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19:03   India need 217 for victory


India 23-1 (5 ovs) vs Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs)  | Scorecard

India lose first wicket off a needless run out.  

Rohit Sharma loses his bat as he tries to ground it and is found short of his crease. 

Dhawan is the more attacking of the two openers. He's taken a particular liking to Malinga, taking the bowler to the cleaners with ease.
17:50   Mathews stranded at the crease on 36

Sri Lanka 216 all out (43.2 ovs) vs India | Scorecard


Sri Lanka failed to capitalise on a good start and even though their run rate kept hovering above the 5 run an over mark, the batsmen could not keep their wickets in tact and totally lost the plot.

Bumrah replaces Chahal and starts with a bouncer to Fernando. 

It takes just the next ball for the Lankan innings to fold as Fernando is bowled through the gates as Lanka are all out for 216 in 43.2 overs. 

Bhuvneshwar replaces Axar.

And Mathews plays the first ball down to long on and hares down the pitch for a couple.

The last ball of the over is four byes.

Chahal continues and strikes!

Malinga comes down the pitch in an attempt for a big shot. But he misses the wide ball completely, it's collected nicely by MS Dhoni who breaks the stumps in one motion to send back Malinga.

200 comes up for Lanka as Malinga sends Axar for a flat six over long on.

He then cuts the ball to deep backward point for a single.

Nine runs come off the over. 


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17:29   Axar gets third wicket



Sri Lanka 196-8 (40 ovs) vs India | Scorecard

Chahal continues and Mathews goes after him in an effort to up the total.

Mathews goes down on one knee and slogs the ball for a six over long on.

Malinga gets off the mark with a single.

Angelo Mathews is stranded as he continues to lose batting partners at the other end.

Axar gets his 3rd wicket -- he traps Sandakan leg before. The umpire has no hesitation in raising the finger. 

Kohli looking to clean up the tail here and brings in Chahal to do the job.

For the first time in the match the run rate of the hosts has dropped down to under 5 (4.81 an over) after 38 overs.

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17:15   Lose 7th wicket

Sri Lanka 178-7 (36 ovs) vs India | Scorecard


Bumrah continues and makes a breakthrough.

This time he crashes through the defenses of Thisara Perera, uprooting his middle stump.

Lanka lose their 7th.

Hasaranga's impatient stay at the crease is ended by a false shot. 

He tries to clear the mid-on fielder but is dismissed after Jadhav completes a good catch running behind. Not an easy job to execute those but nicely done in the end to hand Axar his second wicket.

Lanka is deep trouble now with just four wickets in hand.

New man in Hasaranga tries to go after Bumrah, he mistimes the shot, luckily the ball falls away from Dhoni who runs behind  to attempt a catch.

Just when one thought that Lanka were ready to put up a better batting display than they did in the Tests, they do everything they can  to prove otherwise.

Bumrah comes back into the attack and Lanka lose another wicket. This time Kapugadra is run out for one.

 
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16:54   Jadhav strikes again

Sri Lanka 169-4 (33 ovs) vs India | Scorecard


Sri Lanka losing their grip on the proceedings with the fall of another wicket. 

Again it's the part timer who does the trick.

Jadhav brought back for his 2nd spell and gets the wicket.

Tharanga goes after the full toss and has picked Shikhar Dhawan at the long off boundary. 

India continue to operate with three spinners. 

Chahal replaces Jadhav at the other end and gives 8 runs off his two overs in his 2nd spell. 
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16:46   Dickwella, Mendis out


Sri Lanka 152-3 (28 ovs) vs India | Scorecard

India will reckon they have the upper hand now with quick dismissals. 

Sri Lanka enjoying a healthy run rate but with two new batsmen at the crease the hosts have to start the innings rebuilding process all over again.

Upul Tharanga comes the crease and gets off the mark with a single.

Mendis then sends Axar to the boundary to keep the runs flowing. 

Axar gets his revenge in the next over. He bowls a full length ball from around the wicket, Mendis misses it and is bowled for 36.

Axar nearly gets another wicket off the last ball of  the over as Tharanga gets an inside edge but it misses everything.

Sri Lanka making India fielders chase leather here. Just when Dickwella and Mendis were beginning to gain ground, Jadhav of all the bowlers strikes for India!

Dickwella is trapped LBW by Jadhav. Umpire thinks it's out but Lanka decide to go for the review. 


The third umpire asks the onfield umpire to stay with his decision and Dickwella has to go after a well-made 64.

Seven runs and a wicket come off that over.
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16:13   Sri Lanka cruising


Sri Lanka 122-1 (22 ovs) vs India | Scorecard

Axar Patel brought into the attack and Dickwella gets to his fifty off 65 balls. He has struck five boundaries en route.

The batsmen doing well to rotate the strike.


Kohli's search for wickets has led him to hand the ball to Kedar Jadhav, who starts with just one run off the over.

The drinks break has given the Lankans enough energy. 

They bring up the 100 in the 19th over and Dickwella and Mendis have taken on the bowling head on. They are batting at over 5.5 runs an over.


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15:42   Gunathilaka out for 35

Sri Lanka 81-1 (16 ovs) vs India | Scorecard


Since the introduction of Chahal and Bumrah, Sri Lanka's run rate has dipped ever so slightly.

Dickwella punches the short ball off the back foot for a boundary through point. 

Six runs come off the over and drinks are called.

Bumrah gives just one run off the over as new batsman Kusal Mendis is yet to get off the mark.

Chahal does the job for India. He kept the runs down and now has the wicket of Gunathilaka.

The batsmen plays an absurd sweep, totally mistimed, it went off the bottom of the bat and only to hand an easy catch to Rahul at cover.

He makes a hash of a good  start to head back to the pavillion for a well made 35 (44 balls).

The Lanka openers were running well between the wickets until the Dickwella took a suicidal run but got in just in time to survive the run out.

Dickwella goes down the wicket to Chahal and runs half the length of the pitch only to be sent back by Gunathilaka.

Yuzvendra Chahal is brought into the attack with the hope of getting with his leg breaks and he gets taken for four runs.

Jasprit Bumrah comes in as first change, replacing Bhuvneshwar and Lanka continue in the same vein, taking 9 runs off his first over.
15:23   Pandya, Bhuvneshwar getting hammered

Sri Lanka 55-0 (10 ovs) vs India | Scorecard

Dickwella and Gunathilaka go after the bowling here. 


Lanka bring up the 50 inside 9 overs.

The Lankan duo has been particularly harsh on Pandya, taking him for 29 runs off his five overs.

Lanka have scored 34 runs off the last five overs and they have shown their intent. They are going for the big runs inside the powerplay. 
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14:52   India win toss, to bowl vs Lanka


Sri Lanka 21-0 (5 ovs) vs India | Scorecard

On a flat track, the Sri Lankan openers have started well, making good use of the field restrictions taking on Bhuvneshwar and Pandya with ease.

Bhuvneshwar comes back nicely to give only a single.

After giving 8 runs in his opening over, Pandya has done well to give just one in the over. 

Pandya is attacking left-hander Gunathilaka's pads and he does well to just guide the ball to fine leg for a single.

Bhuvneshwar bowls to the pads and Dickwella uses the bottom hand well to send the ball over mid on for a boundary.

Gunathilaka plays on the up and just drives the ball to perfection for a boundary through the off side. 

He then scampers for a quick single to take 10 runs off  the over.

Hardik Pandya gets some good movement. 

Gunathilaka gets off the mark with a couple to the leg side. He gets the first boundary, he plays the ball off his pads for a four through square on the on side.

Pandya gives 8 runs in that over.

Buvneshwar Kumar gives only run as Niroshan Dickwella gets off the mark.
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14:08   India look to take lead in ODIs vs Sri Lanka


India captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and has invited Sri Lanka to bat in the 1st ODI in Dambulla.

Kohli's men will look to take an upper-hand in the series with a win tonight.

Squad:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (w/k), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.

Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (captain), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (w/k), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.
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12:11   Eyes on 2019 WC, India will look to build squad


The Test series clinched without much of a strain, India will begin the journey to identify the core of their 2019 World Cup squad when they square off against a low-on-confidence Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series, starting in Dambulla, on Sunday.

Chief selector MSK Prasad clearly outlined this, stressing on the aspect of fitness as Team India begins its preparations for the 2019 ODI World Cup to be held in England.

The Rangiri Dambulla International stadium in Dambulla hasn't been a happy hunting ground for the Men in Blue, though.

They have played 17 ODIs at this venue, stretching back to 2004, and won nine of those matches, including bilateral and triangular series (in 2005 and 2010 involving West Indies and New Zealand respectively), and two Asia Cups in 2004 and 2010.

However, head-to-head against Sri Lanka, they have played 11 ODIs at this venue but only managed to win four of them. Perhaps the most important marker in India's history at Dambulla was their game in August 2008, when Virat Kohli made his international debut.

It will be interesting to see how the match pans out eventually tonight.

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