SL vs IND: 3rd ODI – Talking points from Sri Lanka’s consolation victory
After being down and out in the first two ODIs of the three-match series, Sri Lanka bounced back in the final encounter to evade a clean-sweep and earn 10 crucial points in the ODI Super League as they handed India a three-wicket defeat.
India played five debutants
With series in the pocket already, India handed debuts to as many as five players as Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Chahar and Sanju Samson came into the team in what was the first instance after 1980 that India handed as many debuts in an ODI game.
Say Hello 👋🏻 to our 5 ODI debutants #TeamIndia #SLvIND
Congratulations boys 👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/ouKYrtrW8G
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2021
India’s collapse
Having won the toss for the first time in the series, Shikhar Dhawan opted to bat. While India made a positive start with the first two wickets adding 28 and 74 runs respectively, India lost their way in the middle overs and went down to 225 all out from 117/2 in the 19th over.
Confusing DRS
Sri Lanka made a loud lbw appeal in the 23rd over of the innings when Praveen Jayawickrama rapped Suryakumar Yadav on the pads as he failed to connect a sweep. Adjudged out by the umpire, Yadav challenged the decision, and while the ball-tracking showed the impact was made outside, the third umpire strangely went on to check if the ball was hitting the stumps or not, leading to a great deal of confusion. Ideally, once impact found outside, whether the ball is hitting or need not be checked.
Avishka Fernando’s composed half-century
Chasing 227 for the win, Avishka Fernando struck a hard-fought 76-run knock that included four boundaries and a six. He held one end up even as India continued to chip wickets after Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who scored a 56-ball 65, departed. The Rajapaksa-Fernando duo added 109 runs for the second wicket that had put Sri Lanka in the driver seat. India did manage to pull things back to some extent but defending 227 eventually proved impossible for them.
