Quick guide:
India v Sri Lanka – 3rd ODI
India, having already wrapped up the series in style were looking to whitewash Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI here at R Premadasa Stadium. The Men in Blue were on a 7-game winning streak at the stadium, which began in 2012.
This was the second instance in Indian cricket history, where 5 players were making debuts. The last time it happened was in 1980, India v Australia. Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Chetan Sakariya, K Gowtham and Rahul Chahar were all handed debuts after having decent IPL campaigns. India won the toss and chose to bat.
Team for 3rd ODI
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama.
India (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Sanju Samson(w), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya.
Match Summary
First innings:-
Sri Lanka had a poor start, with Chameera conceding 5 wide(s) down the leg side in the opening over. Captain Dhawan then went on a rampage, hitting 3 consecutive boundaries off Dananjaya. Strike bowler Chameera immediately atoned for his opening over mishap by dismissing Dhawan. The southpaw was caught behind after going for a drive.
Shaw, who has enjoyed a return form hit a fluent 49. He smacked 3 fours off Jayawickrama in the 15th over, including a majestic slog sweep. He, along with debutant Sanju Samson put on a 74 run partnership. Shaw was dismissed LBW after he tried to flick a Shanaka delivery.
Samson, known for his destructive yet unpredictable form played well for his 46. He started off in an uncertain manner, but eventually found his feet. He hit 5 fours and a six in his run a ball knock. He was caught after offering a simple catch to Fernando.
Rains then played spoilsport and reduced the match to 47 overs per side. Suryakumar, ever the attacking batsmen hit two fours to lead India past 150 after 24 overs. The Men in Blue were going at well over 6 runs an over.
India were then reduced to 179/5 by the 29th over. Pandey and Pandya were dismissed by some intuitive bowling by the Lankans. Pandey, in and out of the squad was lured to play a shot to a bowl which well outside off. It induced a thin edge, which was caught by ‘keeper Bhanuka. Pandya was caught on his crease, with a delivery spinning across the line.
India were in deep trouble by the 33rd over, with Rana and Gowtham departing without bothering the score line. A 29-run stand in 10 overs for the 9th wicket saw Saini and Rahul Chahar take the score to 224, before Chahar was caught and bowled by Karunaratne.
India was eventually dismissed for 225, with spinner Akila Dananjaya being the pick of the bowlers with 3/44 off 10 overs.
Second Innings:-
Sri Lanka, chasing 227 due to the revised DLS method began confidently. Fernando chose to go after Gowtham, who was expensive in his first over. Gowtham eventually got Bhanuka, who was caught at square leg after a mistimed sweep. Was there the beginning of a fightback?
The second wicket stand of 109, between Fernando and Rajapaksa eventually took the game away from India. Rajapaksa was particularly harsh on Hardik Pandya, who went for 43 runs in his 5 overs. The duo brought up their 50 run stand in the 14th over, with the score running 91/1.
Rajapaksa reached his maiden ODI half-century, despite Rana dropping him off the square leg boundary. He didn’t inflect much damage as Sakariya took his very first international wicket by having him caught at fine leg. Good catch that by Gowtham.
Sakariya was a man inspired and had De Silva caught off his own bowling, after a well disguised slower ball. In came Charith Asalanka. Together, he stitched a 43 run partnership with Fernando, which took the Lions closer to their target of 227.
Asalanka and Shanaka are both dismissed quickly, with Pandya and Chahar taking their wickets respectively. Sri Lanka were 195/5 after 33 overs. Barring a spectacular collapse, Sri Lanka were expected to win. They did exactly that.
Fernando guided his team home with a mature knock of 76 (98 balls, 4 fours and a six) to lead Sri Lanka to only a second win in 11 ODIs this year, and a first win over India at the R Premadasa Stadium since July 2012.
Player of the Match was awarded to Avishka Fernando for his mature knock of 76.
Suryakumar Yadav was declared Player of the Series for his innovative and attacking stroke play, which saw him score 124 runs in 3 games.
Rahul Dravid, in his first assignment as coach has done a wonderful job of instilling confidence and never say die attitude in his men. Sri Lanka will have go back to the drawing board and iron player contracts and form if their team were to do well at the T20 World Cup.
Key Takeaways
- Never give up on your dreams. Chetan Sakariya, who has faced personal setbacks this year is testament to this.
- If you perform consistently, you will be rewarded. Rahul Chahar is proof of this. His consistency has been a talking point of his journey so far and he was very well rewarded for it by adding him to T20I and ODI squad in 2021.
- Believe in yourself and do the hard work first.
- Age is not a barrier. Sometimes, experience as a player and then transitioning to the role of leading the youngsters proves to be clicking right. Shikhar Dhawan’s leadership and taking up the challenge of leading the team was a good example for it.
~ Shlomoh Divekar (Team Member, Beyond the Matches)
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