Man of the Match today: The hard-hitting Indian batsman was declared the ‘Man of the Match’ for his quickfire knock.
Advertisement
During the first ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of Sri Lanka in Colombo, India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Chasing a 263-run target, Indian batsmen raced to victory in as early as the 37th over to register a thumping batting performance at the R Premdasa Stadium.
Leading India for the first time as a designated captain, Shikhar Dhawan top-scored for his team with his 86* (95) comprising of nine fours and a six.
After Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bat earlier in the day, the hosts posted 262/9 in 50 overs on the back of Chamika Karunaratne scoring 43* (35) in the business end of the innings. With bowling figures of 7-1-37-2, Deepak Chahar was the pick of the Indian bowlers at the R Premdasa Stadium today.
Prithvi Shaw Man of the Match today
While Dhawan played responsibly throughout the innings, quickfire innings from opening batsman Prithvi Shaw (42) and wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan (59) had laid the foundation for the Indian victory in the first 15 overs itself.
While Shaw scored at a strike rate of 179.16 in the 24 balls that he played, Kishan converted his start into a half-century on debut scoring at 140.47 with the help of eight fours and two sixes which included a first-ball six in ODI cricket.
Shaw, who set the tone of the chase by scoring nine boundaries in the first five overs, was awarded with the ‘Man of the Match’ award. Playing an ODI after 17 months, Shaw carry forwarded his Indian Premier League form to hit some elegant shots effortlessly tonight.
“It’s [getting hit on the helmet] fine now, a bit of pain but it’s okay. Rahul [Dravid, head coach] sir didn’t say anything when I went in. I went with my instinct and was looking for boundaries. As a batsman, I try to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“The pitch was good in the first innings and it got better in the second innings. And I like facing fast bowlers. I was disappointed with the shot when I got out. I lost a bit of focus after I was hit on the head,” Shaw was quoted as saying during the post-match presentation ceremony.
