Angelo Mathews took a blinder to send Shikhar Dhawan back in the hut for 49.
Former Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews displayed brilliant skills in the field to send Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan back in the pavilion. The left-handed batsman tried to sweep a delivery from Siriwardana over fine leg but failed to clear the 30-yard circle. Mathews who was standing at short-fine leg region ran to his left and grabbed a magnificent diving catch to dismiss the Indian batsman for 49.
Dhawan was the second batsman to be dismissed but a flurry of wickets after this reduced India to 131/7. Earlier, India were handed over a target of 231 runs in 47 overs after play was delayed due to rain before the start India’s chase. While chasing a modest target, India were cruising as the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar gave them a solid start. The left-right duo compiled a total of 109 runs.
Sharma ended his run-drought in Sri Lanka as the right-hander went on to score a half-century.
But the real drama started when Akila Dananjaya was introduced in the attack. After scalping Sharma for 54, the spinner sent Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul back in the hut in one single over. The leggie didn’t stop here as bagged the wicket of Hardik Pandya who danced down the track but missed the ball completely and was stumped by Dickwella.
Struggling at 131/7, the Men in Blue were provided with some resistance from their former captain MS Dhoni and tail-end batsman Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the middle.
India won the first match of the five-match ODI series in Dambulla.
