After facing a 1-0 defeat in the whites, the Sri Lankan team, under the leadership of new captain Thisara Perera, locked horns with Rohit Sharma-led Men-In-Blue and made the most of the seaming conditions offered in the first ODI in Dharamsala. Their opening bowlers, Suranga Lakmal and Angelo Mathews bowled in the corridor and dismissed the Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in successive overs as India were down to 2/2.

The Sri Lankan bowlers kept it tight and the runs dried up for India. In fact, they could only manage 11 runs in the first powerplay, which is the lowest score after the first 10 overs in ODI cricket history. Much like the Kolkata Test, Lakmal troubled the Indian batsmen with his swinging deliveries and was rewarded with wickets at regular intervals. He got ample support from Angelo Mathews and then later, Nuwan Pradeep to leave India reeling at 29/7; their lowest score after the fall of 7 wickets. Suranga Lakmal finished his 10-over spell on the trot, with figures of 10-4-13-4.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni then took matters in his own hands and formed a partnership with chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav. The duo played their shots and added crucial runs for the team as India got past the tally of 54, their lowest ever total in ODIs.

Skipper Perera then threw the ball to Akila Dhananjaya and the spinner didn’t disappoint his captain, as he broke the partnership by dismissing Kuldeep. India were still 30 short of the three-figure mark.
Owing to the lack of partners at the other end, Dhoni decided to switch gears. The man, who has done it many times for India had the onus once again to bail them out of trouble and the former captain managed to take his team over 100 single-handedly. In the process he scored his 67th ODI half-century and showed the world that when it matters the most, he is the one the team can rely on. He was dismissed for 65 and ensured that the bowlers had a glimmer of hope in the chase.

Sri Lanka just needed 113 runs to take the lead in the series. Indian opening bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, used the conditions to their advantage and didn’t allow easy runs upfront. The persistence of Bumrah finally paid off and a rash shot from Danishka Gunathilaka led to his dismissal. In the next over, Bumrah bowled a peach and dismissed Tharanga only for it to be called a no-ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then struck for India as Lahiru Thirimanne played on in the next over. Sri Lanka were 2 down for 19 and India started hoping for a miraculous comeback.

But Tharanga had other ideas. He made the Indians pay after being dismissed on the no-ball and started playing his shots. This counterattack from the southpaw surprised the Indians, who started erring in their lengths which gave Tharanga confidence and he started scoring at a brisk rate. Tharanga played one shot too many and was dismissed for 49, off Hardik Pandya but it was too late for India as his innings had done the damage.

Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella then completed the formalities and the Sri Lankans won the match by 7 wickets.

This was their first victory of the Tour and first win over India after 12 matches. This Indian team is not known for losing continuously and the Sri Lankans need to be wary of the fact that Rohit Sharma and co will bounce back in Mohali.