The first ODI match between India and Sri Lanka ended in a thrilling tie. In this low scoring match played in Colombo, the Indian team could not even achieve the target of 231 runs and were all out for 230 runs. Team India needed only 1 run to win with two wickets to spare but Sri Lanka captain Charith Aslanka took the wickets of Shivam Dubey and Arshdeep Singh in 2 consecutive balls to prevent Team India from winning and the match was tied.
Sri Lanka gave India a target of 231 runs
Played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2, the match proved to be a thriller due to the dominance of the spinners. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 230 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Young all-rounder Dunith Vellaleg played a brilliant innings for Sri Lanka and scored 67 runs. Apart from this, Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka also played an innings of 56 runs. While in the lower order Vanindu Hasaranga contributed 24 runs. Akshar Patel and Arshdeep Singh took 2 wickets each for India.
Rohit's explosive half-century
After this came the Indian team's turn, the target did not seem too big. Captain Rohit Sharma, who is returning to the team almost a month after winning the T20 World Cup, got off to an aggressive start with a half-century off just 33 balls. It looked like Team India would win this match easily, but from here the Sri Lankan bowlers started to excel in Vellaleghe and quickly took the wickets of Shubman Gill and Rohit.
The spinners stopped Vijayarath
While Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Shreyas Iyer also could not last long and the Sri Lankan spinners took over the match. A 57-run partnership between KL Rahul and Axar Patel revived hopes of victory, but Hasaranga and Aslanka both took wickets. From here Shivam Dubey took over and batted strongly to level the scores. The team needed 1 run from 15 balls with 2 wickets to spare, but Aslanka dismissed Shivam and Arshdeep Singh LBW in consecutive balls to tie the match.
Also Read: IND vs SL: Rohit Sharma wreaks havoc against Sri Lanka, sets world record
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