India continue their Sri Lanka dominance taking game one without a flutter.
BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE.
(eLanka Sports Editor)
India made short work of a Sri Lanka team lacking batting depth cruising to a 43- run win in game one of a three match series in Pallekelle.
The gulf between the two nations continues to be concerning with Sri Lanka appearing to carry psychological scars of their previous meetings which were disastrous.
The well tuned Indians fresh from the recently concluded IPL, were very much in control and executed their plans to perfection.
The unusual rushed schedule appears to be designed for ‘big brothers’ need, judging by back-to-back games and then a short break before the last encounter.
Batting first, India made a brisk start against an attack that lacked early penetration as they built up enough momentum to post 213 for 7 in their allotment.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal 40 off 21 balls and Shubman Gill 34 off 16 balls put together 74 in controlled aggression and the trend was set for a defendable 213 for 7 that Sri Lanka had no backbone to go after.
Skipper Suriyakumar Yadav 58 off 26 balls with 2 sixers and 8 fours and Rishabh Pant 49 off 33 with 1 six and 6 fours plundered the Sri Lanka attack at will.
Sri Lanka’s openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis took up the challenge at the outset smashing 84 for the first wicket and appeared to have set the platform for a chance of running down the target.
But the dismissal of Mendis saw Nissanka and Kusal Perera continue their chase until India cleverly pegged them back by dismissing both.
Their exits with the total on 140 for 2 on the board, saw a familiar procession when they crashed to 170 all out as the woes of their roller coaster batting continued.
Sri Lanka lost their last eight wickets for 30 in another dramatic batting collapse similar to their last two encounters.
No one entered double figures after the great start with new skipper Charith Asalanka joining a procession of scores under ten three of them ducks, as India’s pace- spin combination completed a demolition job.
The continued inclusion of proven failure Dasun Shanaka continues to mystify Sri Lankan fans as several promising players warm the benches without opportunity.
What was also questionable was the composition of the team selection which was an imbalance of bowlers and lack of batting depth. It had to be a foolish gamble against a proven Indian bowling attack that can unravel the best batting line-ups in the world.
The thought process of Sri Lanka’s think tanks continues to mystify their fans.
