Jasprit Bumrah finished with career-best figures of 5-27 off his 10 overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Jasprit Bumrah ripped through Sri Lanka’s batting line-up with his maiden five-wicket haul before opening batsman Rohit Sharma clubbed an unbeaten 124 to lead India to a six-wicket win in the third ODI in Pallekele.
With India taking a 3-0 lead in the five-match series, it marked the eighth consecutive time they have beaten Sri Lanka in a bilateral ODI series consisting of two or more ODIs.
Sri Lanka stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedara would not have been thrilled with his side’s start after he chose to bat first as opener Niroshan Dickwella was given out lbw off the bowling of Bumrah for 13.
Dickwella was not given out initially, but India opted to use their review, which ended up going in their favour.
Kusal Mendis failed to have an impact with the bat as he was superbly caught by Rohit Sharma at second slip off the bowling of Bumrah for one run.
Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, who were both called up to the ODI side prior to the match, stabilised the innings with a 72-run partnership before Chandimal was caught by Bumrah at deep square leg off the bowling of Hardik Pandya for 36.
Once Chandimal was gone, Sri Lanka began to lose wickets at regular intervals, including that of Thirimanne, who went on to score 80 off 105 balls, which included five boundaries and a six.
Lahiru Thirimanne’s 17th ODI fifty went in vain
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With Sri Lanka struggling at 192/7 after 47 overs, the heavens parted and play was suspended for approximately 10 minutes before the match resumed.
The rain didn’t stop India’s rampage as Bumrah secured his five-wicket haul when he clean bowled Milinda Siriwardana for 29.
Dushmantha Chameera fell shortly after as Sri Lanka finished on 217/9 off their 50 overs.
Bumrah was easily the pick of the bowlers with five wickets, while Pandya, Axar Patel and Kedar Jadhav took one wicket apiece.
Chasing 218 to win, India got off to a shoddy start as opener Shikhar Dhawan was clean bowled by Lasith Malinga for five runs.
India captain Virat Kohli fared no better as he was sent packing by Vishwa Fernando for three runs.
Rohit and Lokesh Rahul began to stabilise India’s innings with a 42-run partnership before all their hard work went down the drain as Rahul and Kedar Jadhav were both taken out by Akila Dananjaya for 17 and a duck respectively.
Despite losing two wickets in quick succession, India recovered brilliantly as Rohit and Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished things off with an unbeaten 157-run partnership, during which Rohit brought up his hundred and Dhoni his fifty.
Rohit Sharma’s 12th ODI century was his first in Sri Lanka
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Rohit ended up making 124 off 145 balls, which included 16 boundaries and two sixes, while Dhoni remained undefeated on 67 off 86 deliveries, which included four boundaries and a six.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck his 65th half-century in ODI cricket
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Dananjaya was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Malinga and Fernando claimed one wicket each.
Kapugedara was disappointed with his side’s performance, and said: “I thought it was a good wicket, so put some score on the board and hopefully we can defend, and like the last game we hoped it would grip a bit in the evening. Things didn’t go to our plans. We discussed about not playing dot balls in the middle overs, but things didn’t work out. 260-275 would have been a challenging score. I enjoyed captaincy – it was pressure, but I enjoyed it, and hopefully we can win next time.”
Kohli was pleased to have already won the series with two games to spare, and said: “Small targets are always tricky. If it happens 2-3 times, it isn’t an issue. We’ve chased small targets convincingly before. Here it was the case of the wicket being a little challenging. A couple of those wickets, you wouldn’t get those wickets 8 out of 10 times. Rohit was outstanding, MS was great as well.
“These things happen, the [young] guys will learn in the middle order, we have to be patient with them. Bumrah’s got 11 wickets in three games, he’s bowled really well, he’s among our top short-format bowlers at the moment. He hits the right areas, bowls at pace, and in the death overs he’s like a fish in water. We have a squad of 15, we’ll look to give some guys a go, see how their game stands up in different situations. We’ve won three, and we can definitely afford to give them a few opportunities.”
Bumrah was named Man of the Match, and said: “It’s always good when you get a break [he was rested for India’s tour of the West Indies]. You can work on your strengths and refresh when you come back. This was a different wicket. Last match it was a bit slow, but this time there was a bit of seam movement with the new ball. It’s a good feeling, whenever you’re able to contribute to the team’s success.”