MUMBAI: India pacers decimated the Sri Lankan batting attack after Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer to power the home side to hand Sri Lanka the second-biggest World Cup defeat in the 33rd match of the ICC World Cup 2023.
Set to chase a daunting 358-run target, the Sri Lankan batting lineup unfolded at a mere 55 in 19.4 overs.
Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj gave India a dominant start in the defence as they ran through Sri Lanka’s top order, reducing them to 3/4 in the fourth over.
Charith Assalanka and Angelo Mathews attempted to pull their side of trouble but Mohammed Shami spoiled their plans with a ruthless spell which yielded five wickets and eventually booked Sri Lanka on the meagre total.
Kasun Rajitha remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka in their dismal show with the bat, followed by Maheesh Theekshana and Mathews scoring 12 each.
The rest of their batters failed to make it into the double figures.
Shami led the bowling attack for India with 5/18, followed by Siraj’s 3/16 while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja made one scalp each.
After inviting India to bat, Dilshan Madushanka drew first blood for Sri Lanka as he castled Rohit Sharma on the second ball of the innings after he sent the first one for four.
Virat Kohli then joined Shubman Gill and together they scored 189 runs for the second wicket, completing their half-centuries.
Shubman Gill appeared to be in a position to score his maiden World Cup ton, while Virat Kohli was eyeing his 49th ODI century to tie Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI hundreds.
However, Dilshan Madushanka rained on their parade as he returned to the attack and removed both batters in consecutive overs.
Shubman Gill top-scored with a run-a-ball 92, featuring 11 boundaries and two sixes, meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored 88 runs from 92 deliveries with the help of as many boundaries as his partner.
Shreyas Iyer, came down to bat at number four and added 60 runs for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul, who scored 21 runs during his 19-ball stay at the crease.
Iyer added another 57 runs with Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket but was dismissed by Madushanka after hitting back-to-back sixes.
Iyers’s blistering knock of 82 runs from 56 balls featured three boundaries and six sixes.
Jadeja on the other end scored a brief 35-run cameo off 24 balls before being run-out on the last ball of the innings.
Other than Madushanka’s five wickets, Dushmantha Chameera was the only bowler to pick a wicket for Sri Lanka, while two batters got run-out.
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