World Cup 2019: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma help India register commanding 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka
India ended their league campaign in the ongoing World Cup with a resounding 7-wicket win against Sri Lanka to finish with 15 points from 9 games.
Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and decided to bat first. Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed the skipper and Kusal Perera cheaply. At the end of 10 overs, Sri Lanka had limped to 52 for 2.
After the power play, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Kusal Mendis with a peach of a delivery. Hardik Pandya then got the wicket of Avishka Fernando to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 55 for 4. Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne steadied the Sri Lankan innings, sneaking singles and hitting the odd boundary.
The experienced Mathews was exceptional with his stroke play, reaching his half-century off 76 balls. Just when things began to look dangerous for India, Kuldeep Yadav struck, dismissing Thirimanne for 53. Mathews continued to battle from the other end and reached his century off 115 balls.
However, he was dismissed by Bumrah for a brilliant 113. India made a strong comeback in the final few overs to restrict Sri Lanka to 264 for 7 in 50 overs. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 3 for 37.
Chasing 265 runs for a victory, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul got India off to a flying start, taking them to 59 for 0 at the end of 10 overs.
After the power play, Rohit and Rahul continued to pile the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers with some brilliant attacking strokes. The explosive Rohit reached his half-century off 48 balls and never allowed the Sri Lankan bowlers to settle.
On the other hand, Rahul took his time to settle, reaching his fifty off 67 balls. Rohit continued to deal in boundaries but was finally dismissed by Kasun Rajitha for 103.
Virat Kohli then arrived at the crease and looked in good touch. At the other end, Rahul reached his century off 109 balls and was dismissed soon after by Lasith Malinga. Isuru Udana then got the better of Rishabh Pant as Sri Lanka continued to fight.
However, they did not have enough runs on the board and Hardik Pandya strode out to hit the winning runs, helping India register a resounding 7-wicket win.
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