SL vs IND | Twitter lauds clinical India for triumphing over Sri Lanka by 41 runs in low-scoring thriller

Having opted to bat first after winning the toss, Rohit Sharma gave India a blistering start with a flurry of early boundaries. The Indian skipper raced to his third half-century on the trot, becoming the second fastest to go past 10,000 ODI runs in the process, as the Men in India's scoreboard read a formidable 65/0 at the end of the powerplay. However, once Shubman Gill departed for 19 in the 12th over, Rohit and Virat Kohli followed suit courtesy of a magical spell from Dunith Wellalage to leave India reeling at 91/3. Wicket-keeper batters KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan stabilized proceedings with a 63-run partnership for the fourth wicket, lasting 89, balls before Wellalage disrupted the party again by scalping Rahul for a 44-ball 39. The pitch, turning square and gripping fervently, meant Kishan had to dig in deep for his 33 compiled at a strike rate of 54, but his dismissal kickstarted a lower-order collapse for the visitors. From 170/4, the Men in Blue succumbed to 186/9, their saving grace being a 27-run partnership for the final wicket on either side of a rain interruption to post a competitive total of 213. Axar Patel proved to be key with a clever 26 while Wellalage managed to scalp a five-wicket haul and part-time spinner Charith Asalanka ended with dreamy figures of 9-1-18-4, making it the first time India lost all 10 wickets to spin in ODI history.

In response, India's spearhead Jasprit Bumrah struck early to send the in-form Pathum Nissanka back to the hut for 6 before adding to his tally by deceiving Kusal Mendis with a slow-wide yorker. Mohammed Siraj joined the party in the eighth over with Dimuth Karunaratne's wicket for a sluggish 2 off 18 deliveries, leaving the Lions in deep trouble at 25/3. Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickarama showed composure to steer the Lions into safer waters with a 43-run stand but were dismissed in quick succession by Kuldeep Yadav while Ravindra Jadeja added to the hosts' misery to have them down and out at 99/6. Yet, in a fascinating twist, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage appeared completely unfazed on a pitch that had proven to be unplayable for most batters, and put together a 63-run partnership to take Sri Lanka within touching distance of victory. The former eventually lost out on patience following a 66-ball 41 and the remaining 50 runs proved to be a tall task as they fell short by 41 runs even as Wellalage ended unbeaten on 42, while Kuldeep was the star turn with the ball with a four-wicket haul.  

The sheer happiness

Correct

Superb

Done and dusted

Lifeline

Onto the finals

It was fun

We are in finals

Team India ready

Wellalage <3