Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI: CT Player of the Match: Virat Kohli

The Indian juggernaut continued as they annihilated Sri Lanka by 168 runs in the 4th One Day International at Colombo. The defeat was the hosts’ biggest in terms of runs at home. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma wreaked havoc in the opposition camp while batting together and smashed centuries in no time. Their innings helped India post the highest total in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka by any team. India posted a daunting total of 375/5 in their quota of 50 overs.

After once again winning the toss on this tour, Virat Kohli thought of challenging his bowlers and decided to bat first. Lasith Malinga, too was happy at bowling first as they had not won defending a target in last three ODIs. India handed a debut to rookie fast bowler Shardul Thakur and also included Kuldeep Yadav and Manish Pandey to test their bench strength. On the other hand, the hosts too included two debutants in Dilshan Munaweera and Malinda Pushpakumara.

29th ODI hundred for the Indian skipper

India, batting first, were rocked early as Dhawan was snaffled by Vishwa Fernando in the second over. But what arrived next was literally the storm in the form of Virat Kohli as the Indian skipper looked in exquisite touch ever since he got off the mark. Fernando was targeted first as he was hit for 3 consecutive boundaries in the next over.

Soon Rohit joined in the fun and both started toying with the bowlers. Virat, who looked in no mood to spare the Sri Lankan bowlers, hammered boundaries all around the park. Soon he completed his half-century and looked hungry for more. Spinners were brought on to arrest the run scoring but the situation got even worse for the hosts as the 28-year old latched on to the rank long hops provided by them.

The run scoring was so easy for India that it tempted Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating the match, to say that it seems the batsmen are having a net session. The inexperienced attack looked clueless and was dealt with utter disdain. The maestro played proper cricketing shots which were pleasing to the eye as the spectators were left thrilled. Soon he completed his century in mere 76 balls in just the 22nd over of the innings.

Today, it was looking like Kohli had decided to play aggressively from the word go and it paid off for him big time. He continued to play his shots, albeit more easily now as the bowlers had no answers and looked flat. When everyone felt that the Indian skipper would go on to make a double hundred, he lost his wicket to his counterpart Lasith Malinga. But, by then, Virat had taken the match away from the home side as India’s score read 225/2 in the 30th over. He scored a magnificent 131 off just 96 deliveries and his mind boggling innings was studded with a whopping 17 fours and a couple of maximums.

Rohit sizzles too

Soon after his wicket Rohit got his second consecutive century. India posted a huge total of 375 despite losing wickets in the middle overs as the experiment to send Pandya up the order failed and Rahul continued to struggle in the middle order. Manish Pandey grabbed his opportunity with both hands and added 101 runs in quick time with MS Dhoni.

In reply, Sri Lanka never in the game as they lost their 3 top order wickets inside 10 overs. Former captain Angelo Mathews resisted and scored a valiant knock of 70 but he was only delaying the inevitable. Indian bowlers enjoyed a happy outing as all the five bowlers who played the match were amongst the wickets. The hosts were handed another thumping defeat as they crumbled for 207 runs.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were the architects of the victory as they added 219 runs in just under 28 overs and scored their respective hundreds as well. But the impact that Kohli had on the match and on the bowlers make him the CT Player of the Match for the 4th ODI. India will aim to whitewash Sri Lanka on Sunday now.