[Watch] Fired-up Sadeera Samarawickrama gives a send-off to Virat Kohli in the IND vs SL 3rd ODI
Sri Lankan player Sadeera Samarawickrama gave Virat Kohli an aggressive send-off during the final game of the three-match ODI series on Wednesday, August 7. The match took place at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the hosts coming on top.
Chasing a target of 249, the Men in Blue were 67/3 after 10 overs. On the fifth ball of the 11th over, Virat Kohli was trapped in front of the wickets. Dunith Wellalage outfoxed the former Indian captain, who played for the turn, but the ball went straight and hit his pads.
The umpire took no time to raise his finger as Virat Kohli failed to deliver for the visitors. Sadeera Samarawickrama was pumped as he roared in delight when the hosts got the big fish.
Here’s the video of the moment:
Indian batters had a tough time at the crease as they struggled against the Sri Lankan spinners. Captain Rohit Sharma (35) was the highest scorer as the Men in Blue got bowled out on 138 in 26.1 overs.
India lost the match by 110 runs, losing the series 2-0. This was also Sri Lanka's first win against India in a bilateral ODI series in 27 years.
“Series loss is not the end of the world” - Rohit Sharma reflects as Sri Lanka outplayed India
Indian captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that Sri Lanka played better cricket than India. In addition, Rohit stated that they must make certain improvements and be more equipped the next time they come across similar circumstances.
At the post-match presentation, he said:
"I don't think it is a concern (spin problems). But it is something we have to look at individually and as a gameplan. It is a joke, when you are playing for India there is never going to be complacency. When I am captain there is no chance of that. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us."
"We looked at the conditions and went with the combinations, there are also guys who need to be looked at and hence the changes. There are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives from this series because we need to be better prepared when we come across such conditions next time. These things happen, series loss is not the end of the world, you will lose an odd series here and there but it is about how you come back after the loss," Rohit continued.
Team India will next be seen in action against Bangladesh in a two-match home Test series, starting September 19.