India thrash Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the series opener, with Shikhar Dhawan and Ishan Kishan starring.

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Monday, 19th July 2021

India thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the first one-day international of a series postponed by the coronavirus on Sunday, with skipper Shikhar Dhawan and youngster Ishan Kishan both hitting half-centuries. India relied on Dhawan's 33rd ODI half-century and fellow opener Prithvi to chase down 263 runs. Shaw's 24-ball 43 and Kishan's aggressive 59 helped them reach their goal in 36.4 overs and take command of the three-match series in Colombo. Shaw was awarded man of the match for getting India off to a blazing start, while Dhawan, who turned 23 on Sunday, kept the momentum going with large partnerships with Kishan, Manish Pandey, and Suryakumar Yadav, who scored an unbeaten 31.

After being smacked in the head in the previous over, Shaw was bowled by Dhananjaya de Silva.

Kishan began his ODI career with a six, followed by three consecutive boundaries against De Silva. He reached fifty with a boundary before succumbing to Lakshan Sandakan due to a thin edge.

After deciding to bat first, Sri Lanka lost wickets on a regular basis, but number eight Chamika Karunaratne's quickfire 43 pushed the side to 262 for nine in 50 overs.

Deepak Chahar (pace bowler), Yuzvendra Chahal (spinner), and Kuldeep Yadav (wicketkeeper) each took two wickets.

Due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the Sri Lankan camp following batting coach Grant Flower's positive test on return from their tour of England, the limited-overs series was rescheduled and the intended start date of July 13 was pushed back by five days.

Sri Lanka was dealt another setback after captain Kusal Perera was ruled out of the series due to injury. Three players, including vice-captain Kusal Mendis and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella, were suspended for breaching the team's bio-bubble in England.

The second One-Day International will be played in Colombo on Tuesday.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source

NDTV