8 February 2012 12:43 pm
Batting first, the Sri Lankan team could only manage 233 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Youngster Dinesh Chandimal was the most impressive player, top scoring with 64 runs.
The stylish right-handed batsman struck four boundaries in his innings, but failed to bat until the end, which cost his side some runs towards the end.
For India, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowled extremely well. He was also used in the power-play overs, but did not disappoint his skipper MS Dhoni at all. The youngster picked up three wickets for just 32 runs in his 10-over spell.
The Men in Blue came out to bat with a positive intent and attacked the opposition right from the start. This helped them gain very good momentum in their innings and they carried that towards the end of the match.
Promising young batsman Virat Kohli was the star of the show with the bat, contributing 77 runs to the total. He was run-out in the 36th over, which allowed the opposition to bounce back into the game.
However, Ashwin proved to be more than handy with the bat, as he scored an unbeaten 30, guiding his side to victory in the 47th over of the innings. He was named man-of-the-match for his splendid all-round show today.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews tried his best with the ball, picking up two wickets, but failed to help his side win.
In the post match presentation, the Indian skipper said, “I always smile whether we are winning or losing, it is good to be on the winning side. Ashwin had to bowl out of his comfort zone in the Powerplays and the slog overs. He did well and batted well.”
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene claimed, “We were probably 30-40 runs short. We had our chances but they played better than us. We kept wickets in hand, we did not play their spinners well, we got bogged down in the middle period.
We need to get runs on the board.”
The next match of the series will be played between hosts Australia and Sri Lanka on Friday, February 10. (Source: News Pakistan)