Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni forged a fine hundred run partnership to guide India to a win in the 3rd ODI match against Srilanka at Pallekele. (Source: PTI)
Riding high on a brilliant bowling performance by Jasprit Bumrah and a fine hundred by Rohit Sharma the Indian side secured a win in the 3rd ODI match against Srilanka at Pallekele. India won the match by 6 wickets and thereby also sealed the series after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead. However, it was not a smooth ride for the men in blue after having a poor start to the innings. But it was Rohit Sharma’s brilliant hundred and MS Dhoni’s fine half-century that helped cross the line.
Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat. From the start, Sri Lanka were on the backfoot after Jasprit Bumrah bowled a fine opening spell to pick up two wickets. Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne did put up a partership to steady the ship but Bumrah once more came back towards the end of the innings to scalp three more wickets to peg back the Lankan innings. Thirimanne top scored for the hosts with a knock of 80. The hosts did not help themselves either as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Ultimately the innings folded up for a paltry 217. Jasprit Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 5/27.
Chasing a modest total, India did not begin on a good note. This was after Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav were back in the dressing room and India were tottering at 61/4. But from thereon vice-captain Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni forged a slow but steady partnership. With the asking rate, never being a cause of concern the duo began picking the gaps and kept the scoreboard moving.
While Rohit Sharma reached his 12th ODI hundred, MS Dhoni also brought yet another half-century. However, some late drama towards the end saw the match witness a stoppage for nearly half an hour. Unruly behavior from the crowd, as bottles were thrown on the field, forced the match to be stopped. fter a span of fifteen minutes, India came out to bat and chased down the runs. While, Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on 124, Ms Dhoni was not out on 67.
