Brief scores: Sri Lanka 216/10 (Niroshan Dickwella 64, Kusal Mendis 36; Axar Patel 3/34, Jasprit Bumrah 2/22) lost to India 220/1 (Shikhar Dhawan 132*, Virat Kohli 82*) by 9 wickets.

Sri Lanka got off to a good start as Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka came out with with a positive approach and took on the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya in the initial stages of the game. Gunathilaka took a special liking to Pandya’s bowling in the eighth over smashing 11 runs which included two boundaries as the duo managed to take Sri Lanka to 55 for no loss at the end of 10 overs. Given that both the openers looked comfortable with pace on the ball, Kohli decided to change things up and brought Yuzvendra Chahal into the attack. The move paid dividends as the leg spinner dismissed Gunathilaka for a well-made 35 in the 14th over. The wicket brought Kusal Mendis to the crease who made his intentions clear from the onset as he and Dickwella ensured that the home side maintained a good run rate of more than a run a ball. Together, the duo quickly consolidated the Sri Lankan innings as they managed to find the boundaries seemingly at will, smashing 10 and 14 runs off the 18th and 20th overs respectively. Dickwella brought up his 5th ODI fifty with a single of Axar Patel in the 22nd over as Sri Lanka built another formidable partnership. Sensing the need for another wicket, Kohli once again turned to his spinners and it was Kedar Jadhav who provided the breakthrough this time as he trapped Dickwella plumb in front in the 25th over. However, despite the loss, the home side were in a strong position at 141 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings.

At this point, Kohli understood that the Lankans were having trouble facing the Indian spinners and decided to persist with them for the remainder of the innings. The tactic paid off as Axar Patel cleaned up Mendis for 36 in the 28th over. The wicket slowed down the Sri Lankan innings as Matthews and Tharanga failed to find the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking. The lack of runs, particularly boundaries, resulted in Tharanga trying to attempt a big shot but finding only the palms of Shikhar Dhawan at long on. Kapugedera rejoined his captain in the pavilion in the next over before de Silva and Perera threw away their wickets in back to back overs. Matthews was trying to hold the innings, that had slumped from 139/1 to 178/7 in a matter of just over 10 overs, together but he, too, was struggling to make any sort of a notable contribution to the Sri Lankan score. Sandakan was the next to fall prey to Axar Patel and Matthews decided he had enough as he targeted Chahal who saw the ball sail over the deep mid wicket boundary. Chahal, on the other hand, bamboozled Malinga, who came down the track, by getting him stumped by MS Dhoni. And Fernando was the last one to depart as he was cleaned up by Bumrah, bringing the curtains down on the Sri Lankan innings with the scoreboard at just 216.

Dhawan blitz too hot to handle for Lanka