India 263 for 3 (Dhawan 86*, Kishan 59, Shaw 43) beat Sri Lanka 262 for 9 (Karunaratne 43*, Shanaka 39, Kuldeep 2-48, Chahal 2-52) by seven wickets
The result of the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka was very much on the expected lines. India were expected to start the series with a win and they did it in the similar fashion. Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian side restricted Sri Lanka to 262 on a good batting surface and then chased down the total in just 36.4 overs.
The game saw 'The Kulcha' making a comeback after two years. Both picked 2 wickets apiece while giving away 100 runs in 19 overs combined. Shikhar Dhawan top-scored with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 86 off 95 balls, while Ishan Kishan scored a half-century on ODI debut. Not to forget, Prithvi Shaw's destructive 43 off just 24 balls, which set the tone for the run-chase.
Here's a look at three major talking points of the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka:
1. 'Kulcha' makes an impact immediately in ODI comeback:
The fans got to see Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav bowling in tandem on Sunday for the first time since the heart-crushing semi-final against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup. The pair didn't take too long to make an impact in the game.
Sri Lanka had negotiated the pacers pretty well in the first nine overs and didn't lose a single wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal's introduction to the bowling attack in the 10th over, however, brought India back into the game. He struck on the very first ball of his spell, sending a set batsman in Avishka Fernando back to the pavilion.
Kuldeep Yadav kept it simple as he kept flighting the ball outside the off-stump. He reaped rewards too. In a single over, he sent both M Bhanuka (27 off 44) and B Rajapaksa (24 off 22) back to the pavilion. All three Sri Lankan batsmen got starts but couldn't capitalise on that, thanks to some brilliant bowling display from the spinners.
Broadly, Sri Lanka were guilty of throwing their wickets away after getting vital starts. There wasn't a single 50-run partnership throughout the innings. None of the players could reach past the 50-run mark on a surface that had very little for the bowlers. The batsmen would be disappointed for not having converted the starts into big scores. Sri Lanka, however, did manage to reach past the 260-run mark, thanks to 32 runs coming off the final two overs. It still wasn't enough for a formidable Indian batting unit.
2. Shaw-Kishan's destruction and Dhawan's elegance
Whenever you sees Prithvi Shaw bat, you just can't take your eyes away from the action for even a second. Shaw is someone who oozes class with every shot he plays. It only took him 24 balls to win everyone's hearts. A mixture of Sachin and Sehwag, Prithvi Shaw hit 9 fours and all the boundaries had class written on them. Sri Lankan fast bowlers looked clueless while he was timing the ball through covers, point, mid-off and square leg.
He scored 43 runs off just 24 balls while setting the tone for the run-chase. Sri Lankan skipper applied Dhananjaya de Silva in the sixth over of the innings and in a bid to tonk him for a six, Shaw holed out at long on. Till this time, Shikhar Dhawan was just happy to take the singles, give the strike to Prithvi Shaw and watch the action from the other end.
Ishan Kishan was sent in at number three and smashed his very first ball off a six. He took on where Shaw left and at one stage it seemed like, 'It's six-match T20 series! We all got it wrong.' Kishan took his chances, was lucky to survive on a couple of occasions but once he got set, there wasn't anyone stopping him. Kishan celebrated his birthday in an apt manner by smacking 59 off 42 balls, including 8 fours and 2 sixes. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman has now scored a half-century on both his ODI and T20I debuts.
Shikhar Dhawan, at the other end, showed his experience and played anchor to both Shaw and Kishan. Not a single occasion it seemed like he too tried to play aggressively and play in a carefree manner. He used all his experience and played a very calculative innings. Dhawan remained unbeaten till the very end and scored 86 runs off 95 balls, including six fours and one six. It was a perfect captains' innings.
3. Ordinary bowling display from Indian fast bowler:
India played with three fast-bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya and Deepak Chahar bowled the first spell but were ordinary with their lines. The wicket didn't have a lot of swing but the duo looked quite ordinary in the first spell. Both failed to give India an early breakthrough as Sri Lanka didn't lose a single wicket in the first six overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 63 runs in his 9 overs. He is an integral part of India's bowling attack and if India needs to do well in the T20 World Cup, Bhuvneshwar has to be in prime form. The fans would hope that the Indian fast-bowler turns up with better returns in the coming games.
After a long time, Hardik Pandya rolled his arms over and it's a positive sign for both India and him. He looked rusty in his 5-over spell but is expected to get better in the coming games. Hardik Pandya bowling in the match would reduce some headache for selectors.
The second ODI between India and Sri Lanka will be played on July 20 at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Here's a look at the records Broken during the first ODI:
1. Ishan Kishan has become the first player in the history of Indian Cricket to score a half-century on both ODI and T20 debuts.
2. Shihar Dhawan has completed 6000 runs in one-day internationals. He now has 6063 runs in 143 matches. He becomes 4th fastest player to do so.
3. Shikhar Dhawan has become the fastest to score 1000 runs against Sri Lanka. He took 17 innings to reach this landmark. Earlier, Hashim Ama held the record, having reached the feat in 18 innings.
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