Humbling. That’s the safest adjective to associate the majestic victory of Rohit Sharma’s Men in Blue over Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium tonight. It after all is our fortress, our den, and that's precisely how it played.

India were put to bat first, and the hosts rallied their way to a score of 357-8. The cast of the batting supremacy? Shubman Gill (92), Virat Kohli (88) and Shreyas Iyer (82). Their journey to the total was met with caution from Dilshan Madushanka (5/80) - the first Sri Lankan to take a fifer against India in a CWC game.

But what followed was a demolition run. Sri Lanka were reduced to 14/6 in the powerplay. Their misery would finally be put to rest in the 20th over when they were bowled out for 55. Let’s relive this entertaining spectacle.

Kohli-Gill revitalise Indian batting

The Wankhede audience were left stunned by the dismissal of Rohit Sharma within the first powerplay, but their immediate sadness would turn to joy thanks to the 189-run partnership between Shubman Gill (92) and Virat Kohli (88).

Both batters struck 11 boundary fours each in their innings-defining stand as the Men in Blue recovered from 4/1 in 0.4 overs to 193/2 in 30 overs.

The e̶y̶e̶ Iyer of the Tiger

Born and bred on the outfields of the Mumbai pitches, Shreyas Iyer put on a timely masterclass.

56 balls, 82 RUNS, three fours and SIX towering maximums at a strike rate of 146.42: Shreyas made the Colosseum known as the Wankhede Stadium burst with energy and excitement until his departure in the 48th over.

Target set: 357

And so, India handed Sri Lanka a competitive chase of 357. This comes on the back of an exquisite batting performance where three Indian batters - Gill, Kohli and Iyer - hit 80-plus scores in a World Cup game for just the second time in history (first instance - India vs Bermuda, 2007 ODI World Cup).

Landslide ACTIVATED

Overs 0.1: 0-1

Overs 1.1: 2-2

Overs 1.5: 2-3

Overs 3.1: 3-4

Overs 9.3: 14-5

Overs 9.4: 14-6

In what was perhaps a repeat of the Asia Cup 2023 final, the Indian bowling attack wielded the axe on the Sri Lankan batters in a never-seen-before CARNAGE.

Boom Boom lifted the curtains of the fightback with a dismissal off the very first ball in the second innings. Then came Mohammed Siraj, who claimed three wickets off his first seven deliveries (W,0,0,0, W,0, W). Shami joined the party with two scalps in his very first over.

Shami, the RECORD-BREAKER

2015 ODI World Cup - 17 wickets in 7 matches

2019 ODI World Cup - 14 wickets in 4 matches

2023 ODI World Cup - 14 wickets in 3 matches*

Mohammed Shami has raised the bar of excellence with each CWC, and today, the ace pacer ascended past Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan (44 wickets) with his 45th wicket to become INDIA’s LEADING WICKET-TAKER in ODI WORLD CUP HISTORY.

Besides this, the talismanic bowler achieved a couple of milestones:

• Second bowler in ODI history after Waqar Younis (twice - 1990 and once - 1994) to bag three consecutive four-plus wicket hauls more than once (2019 and 2023*).
• Joint-most five-wicket hauls (once - 2019, twice - 2023) in ODI World Cups with Mitchell Starc (once - 2015, twice - 2019)

Brief scores: India 357/8 (Shubman Gill 92, Virat Kohli 88, Shreyas Iyer 82; Dilshan Madushanka 5/80) BEAT Sri Lanka 55 (Kasun Rajitha 14, Maheesh Theekshana 12*; Mohammed Shami 5/18, Mohammed Siraj 3/16) by 302 runs.