Sri Lanka's 12 th captain since 2015, Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first what seems to be a good batting pitch, a typical Premadasa wicket which offer help to the spinners as well. Sri Lanka had a decent Opening partnership of Avishka Fernando and Minod Bhanuka for 49 runs and as the spin introduced, the batting collapsed. All the batsmen got starts having double figures but couldn't capitalized on them. Sri Lanka were crumbling at one stage but getting 52 runs in last five overs with the help of quick fired 43 off 35 balls from Chamika karunaratne, they managed to put a score of 262/9, certainly below par but something to bowl at.
The Indian innings was a display of class batting. opener Prithvi Shaw got a flying start, setting the tone for the rest of the batters. He scored 42 of just 24 balls, pure cricketing shots-no slogging and it was a treat to watch. Ishan Kishan Playing his debut scored a brilliant 50 , showcasing his temperament and talent. On the other end, Shikhar dhawan played a captain's knock getting 86 runs , being the perfect anchor role and allowing the youngsters to express themselves freely. his knock should be praised , a mature innings by the senior statement of the side.
Sri Lankan bowlers didn't really bother the Indian batsman at any stage but there were several drop catches. India were home at just 36 overs with only three wickets down, leading the series 1-0 up. There were a lot of talk about this is the second string Indian side but boy, they were classy group of players, didn't show any inexperience at the middle.
The second ODI will be played on the same venue at 20 th July.