1st ODI: Shikhar Dhawan guides India to victory against SL

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Parth Dhall

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Last updated on Jul 18, 2021, 10:16 pm

A spectacular knock from Shikhar Dhawan (86*) guided India to a one-sided victory against Sri Lanka in the first ODI. The skipper led from the front as the visitors managed to chase 263 with ease (36.4 overs). Youngster Ishan Kishan played a great knock (59) on his ODI debut. Earlier, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Deepak Chahar disarrayed the Lankan batsmen.

How did the match pan out?

Sri Lanka were off to a decent start after electing to bat in the first ODI. Openers Avishka Fernando and Minod Bhanuka played the new ball well but departed eventually. The middle-order failed to deliver, with Indian spinners striking constantly. A late cameo by Chamika Karunaratne powered the hosts to 262/9. India comfortably chased the 263-run target as Dhawan and Suryakumar Yadav remained unbeaten.

A memorable ODI debut for Kishan

Ishan Kishan certainly made his ODI debut memorable. He started emphatically by smashing a six on his first ball in ODI cricket. Kishan eventually raced to his maiden fifty in the format. He became the second Indian to register a 50+ score in maiden innings in both ODI and T20I cricket (56 vs ENG). The stylish batter finished on 59 off 42 balls.

A look at the feats attained by Kishan

Kishan slammed his maiden ODI half-century in 33 balls, the second-fewest balls taken by a batsman to score a fifty on ODI debut. All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who took 26 balls to achieve this feat (vs Eng 2021), tops this list. Kishan has also become the only Indian to score a fifty on his birthday (debut ODI).

Kishan scripts this significant record

Kishan has recorded the second-highest strike-rate by a batsman with 50+ score on ODI debut (140.07). Krunal Pandya tops the list. The Indian all-rounder tallied a strike-rate of 187.09 on his ODI debut (58* off 31 vs ENG, Pune, 2021).

Dhawan completes 6,000 runs in ODI cricket

Skipper Dhawan played a captain's knock in the run-chase. He started rather watchfully and played with responsibility throughout. The left-handed batsman reached his 33rd half-century in ODI cricket. During the innings, he also complete 6,000 ODI runs. He became the fourth-fastest player to reach this milestone (140 innings) after Hashim Amla (123), Virat Kohli (136), and Kane Williamson (139).

Second-highest score by an Indian on captaincy debut

Dhawan now has the second-highest score by an Indian on captaincy debut. Notably, Sachin Tendulkar owns the highest such score (110 vs SL, 1996). He is followed by Ajit Wadekar (67), Ravi Shastri (50), and Ajay Jadeja (50).

A look at the other interesting numbers

Dhawan became the 25th player to captain Team India in ODI cricket (men's). He also became the 10th Indian player to register 6,000 runs in men's ODIs overall. As per Opta, India have a bowling strike-rate of 130 in the first powerplay in men's ODIs since the start of 2020. This is the poorest among all Test-playing nations during this period.

India's ninth consecutive ODI win in Sri Lanka