Keeping the winning momentum going is one thing, but getting better and better in each game is another! Team India defeated Sri Lanka by another massive margin and transferred their Test form to the one-day format. It was another under-par performance by the hosts, who found it diffcult to stop the rampant Indian team in the first ODI of the 5-match series.

Virat Kohli’s good luck with the coin continued, as he won the toss for the fourth time in a row on this tour. The only difference – he opted to field first this time around. It was a landmark game for one of the best bowlers of the format, Lasith Malinga, who was featuring in his 200th ODI.

Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka gave their side a promising start, on a wicket which looked pretty good to bat on. The Lankan openers struggled throughout the Test series but it looked like they had done their homework today. There was a mix-up in the 14th over and KL Rahul managed to score a direct hit at the striker’s end. However, Dickwella’s dive saved him eventually. Off the last ball in the same over, Gunathilaka went for a fancy reverse sweep, but he didn’t time it well enough and played the ball straight to Rahul at extra cover. Yuzvendra Chahal rejoiced as he got the Indian team their first breakthrough. However, Niroshan Dickwella, along with Kusal Mendis built another promising partnership and Sri Lanka brought up their 100 in the 19th over.

Dickwella went on to score his fifth ODI fifty, and his knock was filled with attractive strokeplay. He was taking the Indian bowlers on and scored at a good rate too. Kedhar Jadhav, who had provided the Indian team several breakthroughs with his part-time bowling in the past, did the trick yet again when he trapped Dickwella plumb in front. The southpaw opted for a review, but replays confirmed there was no bat involved and the ball tracking technology showed that the ball would have hit the stumps. Moments later, Kusal Mendis followed his partner when Axar Patel beat his defence and uprooted the leg stump with a quicker delivery. Angelo Mathews and Upul Tharanga, the two senior players had a task in their hands from there on.

The Indian bowlers applied tremendous pressure and Upul Tharanga succumbed under it. Jadhav bowled a full toss and Upul Tharanga heaved it straight to the long on fielder. Shikhar Dhawan made no mistake and accepted the dolly, giving another wicket to Kedar Jadhav. Chamara Kapugedera then got run out, thanks to a good fielding effort by Virat Kohli when he scored a direct hit and ran the batsman out. Wanindu Hasaranga threw away his wicket in the very next over, and Sri Lanka were suddenly under big pressure. Jadhav was seen in action yet again, this time as a fielder near deepish mid-on where he took a reverse-cup catch running behind. Wickets kept tumbling and team India were on top.

Thisara Perera got out to a Jasprit Bumrah special, a yorker which he missed completely and went back to the dressing room for a 5-ball duck. Angelo Mathews was running out of partners at the other end. Lakshan Sandakan fell prey to Axar Patel, got out LBW and replays confirmed the ball would have hit the stumps. Sri Lanka were eight down and Mathews realized he had to do it all alone. Lasith Malinga’s six brought up Sri Lanka’s 200. Axar Patel finished his spell with his best bowling figures in ODIs. Jasprit Bumrah finished things off when he dismissed the last batsman and the hosts were bundled out for just 216, wasting out on a strong start by their top order. The scenario didn’t change for the hosts as they surrendered yet again to the Indian bowlers.

The run chase began with Rohit Sharma facing Lasith Malinga, and the former got off the mark with a single. Unfortunately, he was run out when Kapugedera managed to find a direct hit. The opener had crossed the line but unfortunately, his bat got stuck and his foot was in the air. Despite the early wicket Shikhar Dhawan continued with his solid form. He was batting at a quick rate and provided India a solid start. He raced away to a quick half-century and brought it up with a six over the leg side. Virat Kohli kept rotating the strike and looked to bag another big score under his belt in a run chase. Dhawan didn’t stop even after his fifty, and went on dealing in boundaries.

Shikhar Dhawan kept all guns blazing and brought up his 11th ODI century off just 71 balls, which was his fastest in this format and it was also the fastest by an Indian in Sri Lanka. Only Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock had taken lesser innings than Dhawan to score their 11th ODI tons. He celebrated it in his trademark style and moments later, skipper Virat Kohli brought up his fifty. It was a run-a-ball fifty for the skipper who looked untroubled right from the start.

The duo shared an unbeaten 197-run partnership and India won the game in style, by 9 wickets with more than 20 overs remaining. It was also a record partnership for the second wicket in Sri Lanka. For India, it was an authoritative victory, as they kept momentum with them after the whitewash in the Tests. Shikhar Dhawan finished unbeaten on 132, whereas Virat Kohli finished on 82. It was another clinical performance by Team India and yet another sorry outing by the Lankan side who are simply struggling to click as a unit. Among all their successful chases of targets over 200, this was India’s quickest run-chase in terms of overs to spare.

With the momentum still in India’s favour, the hosts will be vying to swing it their way in the second ODI which is at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, 24th August. India will look to keep their winning run intact with the kind of form their bowlers and batsmen find themselves in.