Disappointed after India failed to chase down 231 in the first ODI in Colombo, India skipper Rohit Sharma felt that the target was achievable but he was proud of the way the team fought till the last.

In a game where the fortunes swung back and forth, India seemed to be heading towards a win after Shivam Dube smashed Wanindu Hasaranga for a six in the 47th over followed by a four in the next over by Charith Asalanka.

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At that point, the visitors needed one run from 15 balls with two wickets left and had the set Dube on strike. But the game took a dramatic turn when Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka trapped Dube in front with one that slid on with the angle.

A successful review from Sri Lanka meant India were suddenly down to their No.11 Arshdeep Singh needing to score a run to win the game. Asalanka sent down another slider on the stumps and Arshdeep’s slog sweep hit thin air, the ball striking his back pad. The home side erupted in a huge roar as the umpire raised his fingers, Sri Lanka pulling the game back from the brink.

Acknowledging the fact that the score was easily gettable with 14 balls in hand, Rohit said, “The score was gettable, just that you had to bat well to get there. We batted well in patches. Disappointed to not get 1 run with 14 balls, but won’t read [into it] too much. The bite was there at the start and then the ball became softer as the seam wore off.”

“It was not a game where you can play your shots, [you] had to apply yourself and dig in. Proud of how we fought, it was important to hold our nerve. But we should have got that one run,” he added.

Coming off a 0-3 loss in the T20I series, where the final game was tied too before India won the Super Over, Sri Lanka showed promising signs with bat and ball to keep themselves in the game.

The home side had India at 132/5 and 197/7, but it needed a bit of magic from Asalanka’s part-time off-spin for Sri Lanka to tie the contest.

Asalanka later revealed the decision to bowl himself was prompted by the presence of the left-handed Dube.

“The left-hander came in, and thought I can bowl to them because it spun a lot. We felt 230 was enough, although we should have done better to restrict them further. It was not easy to bowl [in the second innings], in the afternoon it turned a bit more. When the lights came on, it came easier onto the bat,” the captain said.

This was the second tied men’s ODI between India and Sri Lanka. The first came in Adelaide in 2012 in the Commonwealth Bank Series when both teams finished on 236.

Both the teams will now face off in the second of the three-match series on Sunday, with the third game slated for Wednesday.