India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: 5 Talking points
Team India has one of the best batting line-ups in the world but on Sunday they were victims of a batting collapse against Sri Lanka in the first ODI at Dharamshala. MS Dhoni tried his best getting India past 100, but the visitors claimed a comfortable 7 wicket victory. Here are the 5 talking points from the encounter.
MS Dhoni spares India's blushes
If you take into account MS Dhoni's numbers, when he has come in to bat at Number 5, 6 and 7 position with India's total less than 30, the Ranchi man has a staggering record. In 7 ODI innings, he has scored 514 runs with 2 hundreds and 3 fifties at an average of 85.67. Truly a saviour.
Suranga Lakmal was the wrecker-in-chief
The pitch at Dharamshala might have been bowler friendly but a lot of credit has to be given to Suranga Lakmal. The Sri Lanka speedster bowled 10 overs on the trot to break India's backbone picking up 4 wickets for just 13 runs. Lakmal bowled in the right areas and committed the least amount of errors.
India were poor overall
Team India not just had a dramatic batting collapse, but adding to it was the poor fielding on the pitch. India's slip cordon continued to let them down before Dhawan finally got hold of one. Jasprit Bumrah almost sent Upul Tharanga packing early in the game, but unfortunately he overstepped his line. Tharanga made the most of it and put India to the blade.
Sri Lanka end their winless run
Before coming into this ODI, the Sri Lankans had lost 12 ODIs on the trot, which had even led to sacking of their captain. This is also Sri Lanka's first win against India this year after being thrashed in all the matches they have played at home as well as the Test series in India.
India's number 1 hopes crushed
The men in blue were hoping to topple South Africa as the Number 1 ODI team in the world, but the defeat now has dented our hopes. India needed a clean sweep in the 3 match ODI series to make the Number 1 spot their own. The next stop will be Mohali in 3 days.
