India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI - Talking Points and Who Said What?

India registered its biggest ODI win by a margin of 317 runs in the third match against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday (January 15). Virat Kohli made the headlines as he smashed 166* off 110 balls and Shubman Gill continued his good run in ODIs with a 116-run knock to help India score a big total of 390/5 while batting first.

Mohammed Siraj then dominated the Sri Lankan batters from he beginning. He took Avishka Fernando's wicket in the second over and then Sri Lanka never looked on track for any resistance. Siraj grabbed three more wickets to end Sri Lanka's hopes of a win.

Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Shami also contributed with two wickets each and bowled out Sri Lanka for just 73 runs in 22 overs (73/9 with Ashen Bandara absent hurt due to an injury sustained while fielding).

This is the biggest-ever win in ODIs by margin of runs. India's next assignment starts on January 18 with a six-match white-ball series against New Zealand while Sri Lanka travel to New Zealand on March 9 for two Tests and a six-match white-ball tour.

Talking Points from India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI:

Virat Kohli continues to chase Sachin's ODI hundreds record:

Kohli scored 166* off 110 balls with the help of 13 fours and eight sixes at a strike rate of 150.90 to steal the show again. This was his third hundred in his last four innings and his 46th century in ODIs. He is now only three hundreds behind Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 centuries in ODI cricket, and is likely to break the record in coming months with scheduled ODIs against New Zealand and Australia.

Shubman Gill further cements his position in the ODI squad:

The 23-year-old scored his second ODI hundred to further cement his place in ODIs. With the 2023 One-Day World Cup due to happen in a few months' time, Gills continues to make his case stronger for the opening spot alongside captain Rohit Sharma.

Ishan Kishan, despite smashing a double hundred in his last ODI innings, will have to wait on the bench while Shikhar Dhawan is unlikely to get picked again in India's ODI team.

Losing Captain, Dasun Shanaka said:

"It's disappointing. Not a game we wanted. It happens. We need to learn how to manage the start. Bowlers should learn how to take wickets on these decks and the batters should learn to score. [Inured players] No idea, will have a look after this finishes. [Looking forward] Playing positive cricket is the more important thing. If the boys show intent, the bowling would have been different. Congratulations to Indian team for this performance."

Winning Captain, Rohit Sharma said:

"I thought it was a great series for us. We bowled pretty well, got wickets, breakthroughs when we need. Batters throughout the series piling up those runs was good to watch. [When was the last time a fast bowler in India had four slips and a gully?] Don't remember that. Was good to see how Siraj was bowling and deserved the slips. The way he is swinging the ball, he is a rare talent. And in the last couple of years, we have seen him go from strength to strength. We tried all sort of things to help him get five but it couldn't. But the confidence is there and we can see in the way he is running. He is working on a few tricks. Not given too much thought about [NZ]. We'll get there and see and there will be a change in combination from what we saw today. We want to work like we did in this series to get the result we want."

Player of the Match & Series, Virat Kohli said:

"[On receiving awards] It is the by-product of the intent I have. Mindset is to help the team, and put the team in strong position. I have played for the right reasons and that has helped. Ever since I came back from the break, I am feeling good and I don't have desperation to get to a milestone. I want to continue doing that and am content. Today I was happy to be batting out there and in that space I end up playing good cricket. I am in a nice space right now, just be organic. Shami has always been there for us with the new ball. But the way Siraj has come in and done with the new ball has been fantastic. He picks wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue in the past. It is a great sign for us heading into the World Cup."