India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI, 2017 - Sri Lanka Player Ratings

The Indian batters had to come out of the cocoon to counter Sri Lanka’s lethal bowling in the early hours of the 1st ODI in Dharamshala. With a bit of moisture and early movement threatening the Indian batters, Suranga Lakmal and his pack of pacers created inroads at the opposition batting lineup and received instant success as the likes of Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey perished in no time.

It was only MS Dhoni, who looked a bit settled at the wicket and his knock of 65 helped  India reach the three-figure mark. Chasing 113 to win, the visitors lost three wickets before Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella sealed the win by seven wickets. It was Sri Lanka’s first win in their last 13 ODIs. Let us take a look at the winning team’s player ratings:

1. Danushka Gunathilaka- 4/10

The opener failed to provide a solid start to the visitor’s chase but took the all-important catch of MS Dhoni. The Indian stumper looked in great touch and delivered some big hits before finding the fielder near the boundary on one occasion. Danushka nicked Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery to hand a catch to Dhoni in the fourth over of the Lankan innings.

2. Upul Tharanga- 8/10

On a wicket where the Indian’s top order managed to accumulate just 13 runs, Upul Tharanga smashed ten boundaries and held one end up. He lost his opening partner Gunathilaka and then Lahiru Thirimanne inside the first seven overs but didn’t drop his guard. He edged one to the slips to Shikhar Dhawan and missed out on a well-deserved fifty, as he went back scoring 49 off 46 balls.

3. Lahiru Thirimanne- 2/10

28-year-old Lahiru Thirimanne couldn’t contribute to the Lankan total and was dismissed for a duck off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The left-hand batsman scored a fifty in the Kolkata Test and he will look to make a good impression in the remaining two games of the ODI series. He can grab a couple of brownie points for being a part of this win.

4. Angelo Mathews- 7/10

It was veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews who started all the damage in the Sunday morning. He dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the second over of the match and India kept losing wickets from there on. Mathews bowled just five overs and conceded eight runs. With the bat, the right-hand batsman remained unbeaten on 25, taking his side home in a convincing manner.

5. Niroshan Dickwella- 7/10

The Lankan wicketkeeper had a good outing today. He was involved in three dismissals behind the stumps and ensured a comprehensive victory by staying unbeaten on 26 as India clinched a win with 70 balls to spare. Dickwella looked in good touch during the Test series and he will have the license to go after the Indian attack in the coming games.

6. Asela Gunaratne- 4/10

Kandy-born all-rounder Asela Gunaratne was back in the Sri Lankan outfit after missing out in the Test series. He didn’t get a chance to bat as the top-order were involved in two solid partnerships to take the game away from the hosts. But he is certain to play a key role in the coming games. There is a saying ‘a batsman is as good as his last innings’, and therefore Gunaratne’s knock against Zimbabwe, earlier this year augurs well for him.

7. Thisara Perera- 6/10

The limited overs skipper Thisara Perera won the toss and made the right decision of bowling first. He would be mighty pleased with his boys’ performance. Perera didn’t get to face the Indian bowlers but picked up the key wicket of MS Dhoni. The Lankans restricted India to 29/7 at one stage and India couldn’t really recover from that damage.

8. Sachith Pathirana- 5/10

28-year-old Sacith Pathirana picked the wicket of Jasprit Bumrah and ended with figures of 1/16 from his four overs. The all-rounder, who made his debut against Pakistan in 2015, will look to get purchase from the Indian wickets and make a case for himself in the coming games.

9. Suranga Lakmal- 9/10

One of the most impressive Lankan cricketers in the ongoing tour – Suranga Lakmal was all smiles in Dharamshala today. The pacer made full use of the conditions and bagged four big wickets in his quota of 10 overs. Lakmal conceded just 13 runs and bowled four maiden overs. He looked unplayable and went for just one boundary. He was adjudged the man of the match.

10. Akila Dhananjaya-5/10

An Indian collapse is nothing new to Akila Dhananjaya but he must be relieved to see India get shot out for 112. He broke the most vital partnership of the Indian innings- between Dhoni and Kuldeep Yadav by dismissing the latter for 19. Akila bowled five overs and went back with figures of 1/7.

11. Nuwan Pradeep- 7/10

The right-arm pacer was highly impressive in the 1st ODI. He shattered the stumps of debutant Shreyas Iyer and picked the important wicket of all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Pradeep’s figures of 2/37 with four maidens is just what the visitors needed. Even though he went for a few runs as Dhoni took charge at the later stages, but the pacer was instrumental in Sri Lanka winning the first game by seven wickets.