Ind vs SL, 1st ODI: Karunaratne, Chameera propel hosts to 262/9
Jul 18, 2021
Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 18 : India kept on taking wickets at regular intervals, but Chamika Karunaratne's unbeaten 43-run knock helped Sri Lanka post 262/9 in the first ODI of the three-match series here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
For India, Kuldeep Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Deepak Chahar returned with two wickets each.
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a steady start as openers Avishka Fernando and Minod Bhanuka put on 49 runs inside the first nine overs. However, the introduction of Yuzvendra Chahal paid off straight away in the 10th over as the leg-spinner dismissed Fernando (32).
Bhanuka Rajapaksa then joined Minod in the middle and the duo put on 36 runs for the second wicket, but this stand was cut short in the 17th over as Kuldeep Yadav sent Rajapaksa (24) back to the pavilion. In the very same over, Kuldeep had Minod (27) caught at the first slip and as a result, Sri Lanka was reduced to 89/3.
Dhananjaya de Silva (14) disappointed with the bat as he went in for an inside-out shot over the covers, but he only managed to hand a catch to Bhuvneshwar Kumar off the bowling of Krunal Pandya, and Sri Lanka was left in a spot of bother at 117/4.
Skipper Shanaka and Charith Asalanka then got together at the crease and both batters moved the scoreboard slowly and steadily. However, the 49-run stand between these two batters was ended by Deepak Chahar in the 38th over as he dismissed Asalanka (38), reducing Sri Lanka to 166/5.
Shanaka played a knock of 39 runs, but India bowlers managed to keep the run-scoring in check and as a result, the hosts were restricted under the 265-run mark. In the final overs, Dushmantha Chameera (13) and Chamika Karunaratne (43*) hit some valuable big shots to give Sri Lanka a competitive score in the match.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 262/9 (Chamika Karunaratne 43*, Dasun Shanaka 39, Kuldeep Yadav 2-48) vs India.
