Read it in Hindi.

Read it in Marathi.

With the bat, with the ball, there was no competition at all. India entered the game as favourites to win it, ended up winning it so comprehensively that multiple records were revisited and readjusted, including the biggest win in the format. 

Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma kick-started the day with a terrific opening stand, and Virat Kohli finished with explosive hitting as India scored 390/5 in 50 overs. 

Just when you thought you had seen enough for the day, Mohammed Siraj swung the ball like Beckham bent it back in the day, and the Lankan batters were left clueless. They were bowled out for 73 in 22 overs, as Rohit’s troops completed a cleansweep in the ODI series.

Textbook Gill, explosive Hitman 

Rohit (42 off 49 balls) scoring boundaries off pull shots for breakfast, lunch and dinner makes the whole of India happy, and he provided some of those hits today in his innings today. At the other end, Gill kept driving the ball and found gaps with ease, taking India to 75 runs in the powerplay without breaking any sweat. 

The duo added 95 runs for the opening wicket. 

Kohli-Gill continue the onslaught 

Virat Kohli was in no mood to “settle in”, he walked in to score runs and scored three boundaries in his opening six deliveries. Gill and Kohli toyed with the bowlers and kept the scoring rate close to seven. 

The former brought up his second ODI century and gave a high-five to his senior partner as he completed the single, before punching the air in delight. He was dismissed for a terrific 116 off 97 balls, and the pair added 131 runs for the second wicket. 

Kohli finishes with a bang! 

After bringing up his 46th ODI century (74th overall), Kohli channelized the inner Terminator in him and demolished the bowlers in the final four overs. After bringing up his century off 85 deliveries, he smashed 66 runs in the next 25 balls, finishing with 166 off 110 deliveries, with 13 fours and eight sixes. His exploits helped India finish with 390/5 in 50 overs, India’s ninth highest total in ODIs. 

Also, Kohli went past our former Gaffer Mahela Jayawardene as the fifth leading run-scorer in ODIs. He is also just three short of Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49 ODI centuries. *this deserves a standing ovation* 

Siraj with the new ball OP!

Just when the fans thought the batting effort couldn’t be topped, The Hyderabadi seamer said “Hold my hat” and lit up Thiruvananthapuram further. He kept finding the edges, was beating the batters with his swing and pace - in short, was just unplayable. 

The Lankans were reduced to 37/5 inside the powerplay. 

Bit of delay, but a job well done

India needed just one wicket to finish the match and series, but skipper Rohit also wanted Siraj to have his five-fer (Aamhi Mumbaikars are always generous). We even got to see Shreyas Iyer bowl for that reason (He spins pretty well, mind you). Alas, Kasun Rajitha played out Siraj’s last three overs and denied him that landmark. 

Kuldeep did the job eventually, dismissing Lahiru Kumara as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 73 runs. India won the match by 317 runs, surpassing New Zealand’s record for the biggest win in ODIs (By 290 runs vs Ireland, 2008). 

India completed yet another bilateral assignment having triumphed across all areas and the focus will shift soon to Hyderabad, where we will welcome the Kiwis. 

Brief Scores

India 390/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 166*, Shubman Gill 116) beat Sri Lanka 73 all out in 22 overs (Mohammed Siraj 4/22, Kuldeep Yadav 2/16)