Sri Lanka v India, 5th ODI, Colombo : Who Said What

The final game of the 5 match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka started out with the visitors eyeing a complete whitewash in both Tests and ODIs while the hosts attempting to salvage some pride out of the dismal series. Upul Tharanga won the toss and put Kohli and his men on the field first up.

Tharanga tried to dominate proceedings with his counter attacking innings of 48. After the dismissal of their captain, Angelo Matthews and Lahiru Thirimanne stitched a slow partnership while consuming almost 30 overs. The duo brought up their respective half centuries and was dismissed shortly after.

This led to yet another batting collapse as the Lankans were bundled out for 238 as Bhuvneshwar opened his account in the series after three matches with his maiden five wicket haul in ODIs. MS Dhoni brought up his 100th dismissal via stumping in the process. 

In reply to the total set by the hosts, it was a one man show for India as he brought up his 30th ODI ton and finished the game yet again for his side while engaging in a run chase. Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey gave valuable support as the former brought up his second half century in ODI cricket.

With this 6 wicket win, Indians managed yet another whitewash as they clinch the series by 5-0. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was adjudged as the man of the match for his five wicket haul while Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the man of the series for his 15 wickets tally.

Jasprit Bumrah

Man of the Series Jasprit Bumrah claimed that he felt refreshed prior to the start of the series as he came back after a well-earned break. Bumrah now is only looking for opportunities to become a better player.

Nothing like that (on his Test chances getting a boost after this performance). It’s always a dream. Hopefully, when I get my chance, I would want to do well. I got a good break before the series. I was fresh to come into the series. It has been a long journey with him (Malinga). I will continue to learn with him. I am not thinking about that (using Malinga’s skills to beat Sri Lanka). I am just trying to become a better bowler

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Man of the match Bhuvneshwar Kumar revealed that he was satisfied with the way he bowled today and used the opponent’s weakness against slower balls to his benefit

I was not among wickets in the first few matches. But I was happy with the way I bowled today. We knew they were not strong against slower balls. I did not want to prove anything. Whenever I got the opportunity I wanted to do well for my team.

Virat Kohli

Winning captain Virat Kohli seemed elated after the clinical performance and the winning streak the Indians are currently in the middle of. Kohli hailed praises for the people of Sri Lanka for their hospitality.

It is quite amazing to win the series 5-0. I always thought the limited overs were going to be tougher but credit to the guys. We have played some good cricket. The talk was about not winning more than 3 games in limited overs at a stretch. But now we have 5. In fact, 6. We won one in West Indies as well. Lovely, hospitable people here. They are always smiling but never intrude on your privacy. We will definitely like to come here again

Upul Tharanga

Losing captain Upul Tharanga was seemingly distraught with the team’s performance but lauded the efforts of the Indian side for their dominance. He concluded by stating that the Lankans were not up to the mark.

These are difficult times for us. India was brilliant throughout the tournament. Once we were looking at 260-70 but we lost some wickets. In our batting we disappointed a lot. We could not get the partnerships going. Losing a few main players also was the reason. But as a player I think we were not up to the standards. Happens in cricket (talking about the ball that dismissed him).