The first One Day International (ODI) between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be a one-sided affair, as India won the match by 169 runs.
Let’s take a look at some of the key performances and rate them according to their contribution in the game.
GRADE A
India’s openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane gave the perfect platform for India, as they both scored centuries and had a partnership of 231 runs, before Shikhar Dhawan got out on the bowling of Ashan Priyanjan. Both, Rahane and Dhawan batted very aggressively right from the first over and took full advantage of the batting paradise at Cuttack. Ajinkya Rahane, who scored his second ODI hundred, rose up to the occasion and made his claim for the opening spot, even more stronger. Shikhar Dhawan, who hasn’t been very consistent off late, scored his sixth ODI hundred.
Ishant Sharma bowled brilliantly and made a very strong statement in his comeback game. Ishant bowled with good pace and took 4 wickets in his 8 overs (8-1-34-4).
Suresh Raina, who was playing his 200th One Day International, was promoted to No. 3 in the batting order. Raina looked in great touch and scored a quick fifty (52 off just 34 balls). Raina smashed 3 sixes and 4 fours. It was a good little cameo by Suresh Raina as it kept the momentum of the innings going. Raina also bowled 5 overs and took 1 wicket for 24 runs.
GRADE B
Mahela Jayawardene was the highest scorer for Sri Lanka in the first ODI. Jayawardene scored 43 runs off 36 balls. Mahela played well considering he had no support from the other end as the wickets kept tumbling.
Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron also deserve to be in this category as they bowled with good pace at the start of the innings and didn’t the Lankan openers to get any kind of momentum.
Axar Patel, who was picked ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, also bowled well and took 2 wickets for 24 runs in his 6 overs.
GRADE C
Kumar Sangakkara had a bad day behind the stumps as he dropped a couple of chances early in the innings. Batting at No. 3, Sangakkar scored just 13 runs and got out on the bowling of Ishant Sharma.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was making a comeback after he was rested for the series against West Indies, struggled to grip the ball and leaked 52 runs in his 9 overs at an economy of 5.77. Although, it was a high scoring game and Ashwin’s economy isn’t that bad as compared to some of the others, he didn’t bowl to his field and bowled too many lose deliveries.
Upul Tharanga, who was picked ahead of Kusal Perera for the opening spot, just didn’t get going and wasted too many deliveries at the start of the innings. Tharanga scored just 28 runs off 53 balls. Tharanga’s strike-rate was 52.83.
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By The Cricket Lounge
Image source: cricket.yahoo.com
