31/08Result
4th ODI (D/N), India tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Aug 31 2017
India won by 168 runs
Player of the Match
Virat Kohli
Virat KohliIndia
31/08Result
4th ODI (D/N), India tour of Sri Lanka at Colombo, Aug 31 2017
India won by 168 runs
Player of the Match
Virat Kohli
Virat KohliIndia

9.50pm Sri Lanka have come up with a timid batting performance to succumb to their sixth successive ODI defeat. India are 4-0 up. Where urgency was the need of the hour in chase of a mammoth target, batsmen came out swinging blindly without purpose or a plan. Angelo Mathews offered some resistance, but that was no consolation, for it simply delayed the inevitable. As for India, who rode magnificent tons from Rohit and Kohli earlier in the day, this was another proper workout. Shardul Thakur, on ODI debut, was zippy and impressive with the new ball. Axar Patel had a rough day, but with little pressure on the bowlers, India didn't need to look for a Plan B. For fans who demand better from Sri Lanka, this will be another bitter pill to swallow. Where next? I don't think anyone has an answer to that at the moment.

Virat Kohli is the Man of the match for his 29th ODI century. "We spoke about not being complacent at any stage, today was a clinical performance," he says. "We wanted to bat first because we hadn't batted first in the three games. The surface was amazing. It was a good toss to win. We've given opportunities to three new guys. They will get another opportunity. Batting order will depend on the situation of the game."

Lasith Malinga hasn't had a great first ODI as captain. "300th wicket is just a number," he says. " I'm happy, but we lost which is very unfortunate. It's not easy. Last five matches, we didn't post 250. Young players want to perform well, they're all excited but we haven't been able to come up with our best. They need the experience. Hopefully they will do their best over the next few months.

Here's something for the boxing fans out there: India's Gaurav Bidhuri takes on USA's Duke Ragan, looking for a historic silver medal at the World Boxing Championships in Hamburg. You can follow the bout live on our sister site.

Meanwhile, a county championship game has been stopped at The Oval for a reason you can't imagine: A projectile, thought to be an arrow or crossbow bolt, has landed on the pitch. Right, guys. That brings us to the end of our coverage. This is Shashank Kishore saying goodbye on behalf of Karthik Krishnaswamy. Be well. Cheers! I'll leave you with Karthik Krishnaswamy's match bulletin

Any prizes for guessing who the Man of the match is going to be?

42.4
W
Kuldeep Yadav to Malinga, OUT, got him with a big spinning delivery. Landed this just outside off, Malinga went for a big swipe, but could only connect with the humid evening air. Nowhere near the pitch of the ball and lost his middle stump. The plug has been pulled finally. This is Sri Lanka's biggest defeat at home in terms of runs.

SL Malinga b Kuldeep Yadav 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

Malinga is the last man to walk out.

42.3
W
Kuldeep Yadav to Fernando, OUT, simple return catch. Kuldeep has deceived him in flight. Fernando looked for a big, booming drive but could only hit it back off a thick inside edge.

MVT Fernando c & b Kuldeep Yadav 5 (4b 1x4 0x6) SR: 125.00

42.2
0
Kuldeep Yadav to Fernando, no run, worked with the spin to square leg
42.1
4
Kuldeep Yadav to Fernando, FOUR, tossed up outside off and bang. Got right to the pitch of the ball and belted this over the infield

END OF OVER:
42 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 203/8 (173 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 4.83, RRR: 21.62)

  • Akila Dananjaya11 (19b)
  • Vishwa Fernando1 (1b)
  • Jasprit Bumrah7-0-32-2
  • Kuldeep Yadav8-1-27-0
41.6
2
Bumrah to Dananjaya, 2 runs, swung away towards deep midwicket. Dhawan runs across from mid-on to cut that off. Didn't get hold of it
41.5
4
Bumrah to Dananjaya, FOUR, slaps this past the bowler. Looks like he expended all his energy behind that. He must have a sore shoulder. The ball just trickles past the boundary
41.4
0
Bumrah to Dananjaya, no run, swing and a miss. Looked to play a flat-batted pull but the ball got too big on him
41.3
1
Bumrah to Fernando, 1 run, that is a rip roaring bouncer. Snaking in towards his arm pit, Fernando was ducking for cover, awkwardly hit on bat handle. Ball lobs wide of Dhoni
41.2
W
Bumrah to Pushpakumara, OUT, helped to third man. This was a short ball, not a very threatening one though. Milinda swayed inside the line of the delivery and simply directed this straight to Hardik Pandya. As easy as they come. The end is near.

PM Pushpakumara c Pandya b Bumrah 3 (18b 0x4 0x6) SR: 16.66

41.1
1
Bumrah to Dananjaya, 1 run, fends this skiddy bouncer towards square leg

END OF OVER:
41 | 3 Runs | SL: 195/7 (181 runs required from 54 balls, RR: 4.75, RRR: 20.11)

  • Malinda Pushpakumara3 (17b)
  • Akila Dananjaya4 (15b)
  • Kuldeep Yadav8-1-27-0
  • Jasprit Bumrah6-0-24-1
40.6
2
Kuldeep Yadav to Pushpakumara, 2 runs, too short, he makes room and crunches this into the gap at cover. Work for KL Rahul and he is up to the task
40.5
0
Kuldeep Yadav to Pushpakumara, no run, wrong'un on middle, squeezed back to the bowler
40.4
0
Kuldeep Yadav to Pushpakumara, no run, swept uppishly but straight to square leg
40.3
1
Kuldeep Yadav to Dananjaya, 1 run, rocks back and cuts this short delivery to deep point

Match Coverage

All Match News

Mr. Unbeaten

73

No. of times MS Dhoni has remained not out in ODIs - the most by any player. He went past Pollock and Vaas who had 72 not outs.

Not big this time

104

Rohit's score in this game - his lowest 100+ score to get out. His last 10 ODI 100s were all of 120+ runs.

Malinga's feat

300

Wickets for Malinga in ODIs. He's the 11th bowler and 8th pacer to do so.

Another ton

29

No. of centuries for Kohli in ODIs - the third-most after Tendulkar (49) and Ponting (30). Kohli has took only 185 innings to score that many compared to Tendulkar's 265 and Ponting's 330.

Big stands

8

No. of 150+ partnerships between Kohli and Rohit - the second-most by any pair in the history of ODIs. Only Tendulkar-Ganguly (12) have added more.

Kohli's bogey team

44

No. of inns taken by Kohli to complete 2000 runs v SL - the joint second-quickest. Tendulkar achieved it in 40 inns v Aus and Viv also took 44 inns to do so against Aus.

Quick fifty

11

Over in which Kohli completed his fifty, which is his quickest in terms of team overs. Previous quickest was 16th over v Pak, Dhaka, 2012 (he finished with 183)

Not chasing today

2

No. of times Kohli has chosen to bat first after winning the toss in 16 attempts, including today. The first was also v SL, at Eden Gardens, in 2014 where Rohit blasted 264.

MSD's milestone

300

No. of ODIs for MS Dhoni. He has become the sixth player from India and 20th overall to appear in 300 or more ODIs. Dhoni has played 297 ODIs for India and 3 for Asia XI.