Batsman Upul Tharanga scored causative 49 runs and pacer Suranga Lakmal claimed four wickets to power Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket win over India in the first ODI at Dharamsala on Sunday.
Chasing a small target of 113 runs, Sri Lanka made a confident start and achieved the target in 20.4 overs.
India’s wicketkeeper-batsman and former captain MS Dhoni displayed tremendous grit and scored a 65-run knock in tough conditions, helping the struggling Indians reach 112 runs in their innings.
Spearhead Suranga Lakmal led Sri Lanka’s pace attack, claiming four big wickets in captain Rohit Sharma (0), Dinesh Karthik (0), Manish Pandey (2) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0).
Nuwan Pradeep supported Lakmal in the assault as he took the scalp of Shreyas Iyer (9) and Hardik Pandya (10).
Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya and Sachith Pathirana claimed one wicket each, helping the visitors take control of the game early.
India lost their top batsmen early and were seen reeling at 29/7 inside first 17 overs of the game.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera elected to bowl at the HPCA Stadium.
The Islanders struck early and sent openers Rohit Sharma (2) and Shikhar Dhawan (0) packing. India’s score at the end of 10 over was 12 at the loss of three wickets.
Shreyas Iyer, who made his ODI debut for India, failed to impress much with the willow and lost his wicket for just nine runs.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Thisara Perera (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Sachith Pathirana, Suranga Lakmal, Akila Dananjaya, Nuwan Pradeep.