The Indian cricket team decimated Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in the first One day International at Dambulla and will be looking to dominate the hosts. The second ODI will be played at Palleke International Stadium, Kandy tomorrow. It was a dominating performance by team India who outplayed Sri Lanka in all departments.
Virat Kohli led side showed their dominance during the first ODI. Despite Sri Lanka going strong at 139 for 1 in the 25th over, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav picked wickets and bowled out hosts for 216 in 43.2 overs. While chasing Shikhar Dhawan continued his great form scoring his 3rd century on the tour and remained not out on 132. The captain Virat Kohli looked in brilliant touch with 82 not out. India won the match with 127 balls to spare.
In the second match, Manish Pandey might get a chance as Virat Kohli has decided to experiment. Rahane also batted in the nets and also could open the innings. Bhvuneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya would be the pace bowling options. Axar Patel did a great job by picking 3 wickets for 34 runs. Kuldeep Yadav might get a chance in place of Chahal. Indian team would like to give the bench strength a chance in the second ODI.
It was a disappointing performance by Sri Lankan team. The openers Danushka Gunathilka and Dickwella added 74 runs for the first wicket. From being 139 for 1 in the 25th over, Sri Lanka lost wickets by playing rash stroke and were dismissed for 216 in 43.2 overs. Mathews was the second highest scorer for Sri Lanka with 36 not out. The rest of batting order failed to put any resistance.
In the bowling department, none of the Sri Lankan bowlers put pressure on Indian batsmen. Lasith Malinga needs to deliver the goods if hosts want to improve their performances in the second ODI. The Sri Lankan batsmen must convert starts into big scores. Every player must contribute and give their 100% to challenge a tough Indian side who have won all their matches on the tour so far.
Indian team are looking in great form and would be looking to play with the same aggressive approach, testing their bench strength. The pitch at Palleke should be a good batting pitch and the batsmen on each team would be looking to score big runs.
