Here's some reading material for you as we wait for India to begin their chase. Our friends over at ESPN India have marked out eight young sportsmen who have the potential to carry the torch for the next decade.
Nitesh Chandra: "Familiar SL failings. At one point, they seemed set for 300+. To fold up for 216, credit to India but SL did press the panic and self-destruct buttons simultaneously."
Mavin: "I'm an Indian supporter but why doesn't Matthews bat at 3 or 4? Their best batsman can't be coming in at 5"
Bala Ram: "So stumping is legit on a wide ball and the bowler gets the wicket to his name?" --- Yes. It was intentionally pushed wide too.
Manu vatuvei: "Mathews has to move up the order. Best batsman had to be in the top 3. Such a waste leaving him until the end"
Dishan : "Most senior batsmen have failed again... Tharanga, Chamara, Thisara.. Just can't rely on them anymore.."
5.45 pm Seven wickets in 11 overs. That's the tale of the end of Sri Lanka's innings. The beginning was much different. 74 for the first wicket, 65 for the second, and then came the collapse. Jadhav with the important breakthroughs again. Today might be the day teams start thinking about him in pre-match meetings. Axar slipped into the middle and stopped the bleeding, taking three wickets as reward. Chahal had an alright time too. But after the top three, only Mathews showed any signs of normal cricket. An ugly capitulation; dare we say, one that's expected of Sri Lanka these days. We'll be back for the chase soon.
MVT Fernando b Bumrah 0 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
END OF OVER:43 | 7 Runs | SL: 216/9 | RR: 5.02
- Angelo Mathews36 (50b)
- Vishwa Fernando0 (4b)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar6-0-33-0
- Yuzvendra Chahal10-0-60-2
Last ball. India looking to protect the single
Rakesh Sampat: "Players with the attitude of Angelo Mathews MUST be dropped from the team. Such a SELFISH player. With even SL being 8 wickets down and still 10 overs to go, he is unwilling to farm the strike and shield the tail. Instead he takes a single off the first oppurtinity and then encourages the tail ender to slog rather than trying to strike himself. PAH!!" --- Too harsh. It's a one-day game, you still need to score runs. As many as you can before the tail crumbles. And they will.
END OF OVER:42 | 4 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 209/9 | RR: 4.97
- Vishwa Fernando0 (4b)
- Angelo Mathews30 (44b)
- Yuzvendra Chahal10-0-60-2
- Axar Patel10-0-34-3
And that's the end of his spell. On the expensive side today.
SL Malinga st †Dhoni b Chahal 8 (6b 0x4 1x6) SR: 133.33
END OF OVER:41 | 9 Runs | SL: 205/8 | RR: 5.00
- Lasith Malinga8 (6b)
- Angelo Mathews27 (42b)
- Axar Patel10-0-34-3
- Yuzvendra Chahal9-0-56-1
Taken some damage in that last over, but a very impressive spell comes to an end for Axar Patel. His best figures in ODIs.