Sri Lanka vs India: 1st ODI: India Player Ratings

After humiliating Sri Lanka in the Tests, it was expected that the One Day Internationals would be a closely fought series. If anything is to be believed after the first ODI, it is being feared that the limited overs contest is also going the same way as the Tests. In another one sided clash, India defeated, rather dominated the hosts by 9 wickets.

After losing the toss, Sri Lanka started off promisingly thanks to their openers. But once they were dismissed, the visitors took control of the innings as the middle-order collapsed under pressure. Sri Lanka could only post 216 and they could not even play their full quota of overs. Axar Patel was excellent with his lines and lengths and reaped rewards by picking 3 wickets conceding the runs at just 3.4 runs per over.

India, in reply, were flawless in their approach and roped home the advantage as they achieved the target with more than 21 overs to spare. Shikhar Dhawan, in the form of his life, scored another scintillating hundred and absolutely played with the opposition bowlers. Kohli too just did what he has been doing in the ODIs recently and scored another half-century.

Here we reflect the performance of Indian players in the first ODI:

Shikhar Dhawan: 9.5/10

Shikhar Dhawan just continued his brilliant form with the bat and scored yet another century, his third of the tour. His innings was a near flawless and he played some beautiful strokes all around the ground. The southpaw hit 20 fours and 3 colossal maximums on his way to an unbeaten 132 off just 90 deliveries. He was rightfully adjudged Man of the Match for leading his team to such a huge victory.

Rohit Sharma: 2/10

Rohit Sharma did not do much with the bat as he was dismissed for 4. He was run out off a direct hit by Kapugedera when he tried to steal a single by tapping the ball into offside. The right-hander was unlucky though as his bat got stuck into the ground while running. Sharma would really love to contribute in the upcoming games.

Virat Kohli: 9/10

Virat Kohli, along with Shikhar, played superbly again and scored a well constructed half-century and most importantly finished the game for his side. His innings was studded with 10 fours and a solitary six. The skipper hit some eye catching shots and his wrist work was absolutely magnificent which left Lankan supporters shocked. As a captain too, he was good as he made the bowling changes at the right time which brought wickets when needed.

Kedar Jadhav: 7/10

Kedar Jadhav bowled his part timers superbly and picked timely wickets for the team. He came on to bowl his wily off spins when the Sri Lanka were threatening to score 300 and scalped the dangerous Dickwella in front of the stumps for 64. Then he also dismissed the opposition skipper to screw Sri Lanka’s run rate and which also triggered the collapse. He wasn’t required with the bat but he did his job with the ball and his figures read 5-0-26-2.

Axar Patel: 8.5/10

The like for like replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, Axar did a perfect job by bowling superb lines and kept Sri Lankan batsmen quiet. He picked the crucial wicket of Kusal Mendis who was looking in good touch. Then he sent Sandakan and Hasaranga packing with his left arm spin. Axar has earned his place in the team and is looking a great prospect for the future. His bowling figures were superb and read 10-0-34-3

Hardik Pandya: 3.5/10

The all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened the bowling today but was largely ineffective. He dished out some run scoring deliveries to the openers which allowed the opposition to score heavily in the powerplay. Pandya was expensive and gave away runs at almost 6 an over. He would surely love to perform well in the next game.

Yuzvendra Chahal: 6.5/10

Yuzvendra Chahal bowled well in tough situations today and took crucial Sri Lankan wickets. He came on to bowl when their openers were playing the bowlers comfortably. He broke the all important first wicket stand by scalping Gunathilaka. He was attacked by the batsmen but he was brave enough to continue bowling the same way. He also spun a web around Lasith Malinga to stump him off MS Dhoni. Sri Lanka scored 60 runs off his bowling in 10 overs but he picked a couple of important wickets as well.

Jasprit Bumrah: 7.5/10

India’s death overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah bowled well again and was economical too. The bowler made sure Sri Lanka never made a comeback after the early jolts. He perfectly landed his yorkers and shattered the stumps of Thisara Perera and Vishwa Fernando. His bowling figures read 6.2-0-22-2.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, like Hardik Pandya, was not consistent with his line and was hit for runs. He gave away 33 runs in the 6 overs he bowled. The right-hander would surely love to contribute in a better way in the next game.

Lokesh Rahul: N/A

KL Rahul’s was not needed with the bat in his comeback match as the top order did the job for them. His only contribution was the catch he took to dismiss the opener Gunathilaka off Chahal. As he didn’t get a chance to bat, he does not classify for a rating.

MS Dhoni: N/A

MS Dhoni too, wasn’t required while batting and his only contribution of the match was the stumping he did to send Malinga back to the pavilion. As he didn’t get a chance to bat, he does not classify for a rating.