India were back and roaring at Hambantota as they defeated the home team Sri Lanka by 21 runs in the 1st ODI and took a 1-0 lead in the 5 match series. Indian batsmen made merry on a good batting wicket and scored 314/6 in 50 overs. Sri Lanka could manage only 293/9 and ended 21 short of the target. Virat Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 106 in 113 balls.
India had won the toss and decided to bat first. Gautam Gambhir could not do much as he was bowled round his legs for 3. Virender Sehwag was lucky to be dropped on 0 by Dilshan at point. He did not look back after that. India were a bit cautious in the first 10 overs. But Sehwag and Kohli let loose after that and scored their runs freely. India reached 100 in 19 overs. Sehwag and Kohli shared a 173 run stand for the 2nd wicket. Sehwag was unlucky to be run out on 96 as he was too slow to turn. Rohit Sharma once again failed with the bat and was bowled by Mathews for 5.
Suresh Raina then joined Kohli in the middle. Kohli reached his 12th ODI ton and his 4th in the last 5 ODIs. He was soon dismissed for 106. India were 228/4 in 40 overs and it was the perfect situation for the likes of Raina and Dhoni to launch. They did just that. Both of them hit 3 fours and a six each. They put on 79 runs for the 5th wicket. In the meanwhile, Raina completed his 50 as well. India finally finished on 314/6 in their allotted 50 overs. Perera picked up 3 wickets for 70 runs.
Sri Lanka had a huge task in front of them. Dilshan needed to get going early. He was dropped on 4 by Sehwag in the slips, but could not make it count as he was trapped lbw by Pathan for 6. Sangakkara and Tharanga tried to put on a partnership. The Indian new ball bowlers, Zaheer and Pathan, bowled exceedingly well and did not let the Sri Lankans to get away with the game. Tharanga was outdone by Ashwin for 28. Wickets kept on tumbling at one end as Sangakkara stood steady at the other end. Sri Lanka were reduced to 191/6 in the 39th over and the required rate climbed over 11 runs per over.
Thisara Perera and Sangakkara then struck a few lusty blows to bring Sri Lanka right back in the game. Perera really tonked the ball powerfully. Sri Lanka needed 61 in the last 5 overs and it promised to be a close affair. But Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan kept their nerves and dismissed both Sangakkara and Perera in quick succession. Sangakkara scored 133 runs, but was too slow in his his run scoring. Sri Lanka could get to 293/9 in their 50 overs and India won the match by 21 runs. In the end, it proved to be quite a comfortable victory for the Indians.
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INDIA
|
314/6
(50)
|
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Kohli-106 (113)
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Perera-3/70
|
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Sehwag-96 (97)
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Kulasekara-1/20
|
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Raina-50 (45)
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Mathews-1/58
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Dhoni-35 (29)
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|
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SRI
LANKA
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293/9
(50)
|
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Sangakkara-133 (151)
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Pathan-2/37
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Perera-44 (28)
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Ashwin-2/46
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Tharanga-28 (47)
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Yadav-2/76
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Malinga-19* (10)
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Ojha-1/44
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India Win By 21 Runs
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