Sent into bat in Sri Lanka, the Men in Blue posted a massive 357/8 on the board as Shubman Gill (92 off 92), Virat Kohli (88 off 94) and Shreyas Iyer (82 off 56) played excellent knocks. Mohammed Shami (5/18) and Mohammed Siraj (3/16) then combined to bundle out Sri Lanka for an embarrassing 55 in 19.4 overs. The 302-run win is India’s biggest in terms of runs in the ODI World Cup and the second biggest ever in the tournament’s history.
Batting first, India were jolted early as Dilshan Madushanka (5/80) cleaned up Rohit Sharma (4) with a brute. However, they dropped both Gill and Kohli early in the match and paid the price for the same. The Prince and King duo featured in a 189-run stand for the second wicket to put India in complete command.
Both, however, missed out on their respective hundreds. Gill was the first to go, edging an attempted ramp off a slow bouncer from Madushanka to the keeper. Kohli was also done in by the change of pace from the Lankan left-arm seamer and chipped a catch to short cover. While Gill hit 11 fours and two sixes, Kohli struck 11 fours.
Shreyas and KL Rahul (21 off 19) then added 60 runs for the fourth wicket. The stand ended when the latter checked his stroke and was caught off Dushmantha Chameera. Shreyas, however, struck three fours and six sixes to keep the momentum going. One of his maximums (106 meters) was the biggest of the ongoing World Cup. A cameo from Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 24) took India past 355.
Chasing a huge score, Jasprit Bumrah trapped Pathum Nissanka (0) lbw with the first ball. The dismissal set the tone of the innings. Siraj also pinged Dimuth Karunaratne (0) leg before and had Sadeera Samarawickrama (0) caught at slip in the same over. In his next over, the pacer knocked over Kusal Mendis (1).
Shami came in and ran through the middle and lower order without much trouble. Charith Asalanka (1) chipped a catch to backward point. Dushan Hemantha (0) was then caught behind. A brilliant review from KL Rahul sent Chameera on his way as another Lankan batter registered a duck. Shami dismissed Angelo Mathews (12) and Kasun Rajitha (14) to complete his five-for. Jadeja completes the formalities as Madushanka (6) tried to slog one and top-edged a catch.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
