After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, India was in a comfortable position of 147/3 before rain halted the game. Upon the resumption of play, India suffered a massive collapse. They lost their last 7 wickets for a paltry 78 runs.
Chasing a target of 226 to win, Sri Lanka had a solid start before losing their opener, Minod Bhanuka to the off-break of Krishnappa Gowtham. Post the first wicket, Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa played brilliantly and scored runs at a good pace. They put a century stand and denied a wicket to India for close to 17 overs after the fall of the first wicket.
Finally, in the midst of an excellent spell by debutant, Chetan Sakariya, an opportunity was created when Rajapaksa pulled a short delivery to the square boundary. Nitish Rana was stationed in the deep for that particular shot. It went straight to him but was put down by him, much to the frustration of the bowler and team India. Adding salt to the wound, the ball burst out from his hands and went to the boundary, adding 4 runs to the batsman’s tally.
Here is the maiden wicket of Sakaria:
However, as fate would have it, Sakariya would bowl another short one in the very next ball. This time the batsman managed to play it a bit finer, where the deep fine leg fielder, Gowtham ran in to take an excellent catch. The great fielding effort not only provided a much-needed breakthrough for India but also helped Sakariya pick up his maiden ODI wicket.
Taking the confidence from there, he continued his good outing with the ball picking up another wicket in the very next over, courtesy of a back of the hand slower ball, which outdid the batsman, Dhananjaya de Silva. With two quick wickets, India sensed a comeback but the doors are almost shut for them with Sri Lanka needing only 33 runs to win from 15 overs.
