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50 overs India 314 for 6 (Kohli 106, Sehwag 96) v Sri Lanka
India hardly looked a side playing their first match in four months as their batsmen pounded Sri Lanka for a 300-plus total. Virat Kohli cracked his third consecutive ODI century against Sri Lanka, his fourth in five innings, and his fifth successive fifty-plus score, equalling the Indian record. Virender Sehwag resembled a man playing his first international game in nearly five months only briefly, before scattering the field with a 97-ball 96. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni made sure India recovered from a slight wobble, adding 79 in nine overs towards the finish.
More to follow ...
25 overs India 135 for 1 (Sehwag 73*, Kohli 55*) v Sri Lanka
He played and missed his first three deliveries, he was let off on 0 and 24, but by the halfway mark, Virender Sehwag had shaken off his rustiness and along with Virat Kohli, put India's powerful line-up on their way to another big total. This is India's first international game in four months, Sehwag's first in nearly five, and the question was how long they would take to get going. Hardly a couple of overs, as it turned out.
India looked rusty initially, as Sehwag struggled in the opening over by Nuwan Kulasekara. In the second over, he sliced Lasith Malinga straight to point, where Tillakaratne Dilshan put it down. In the third over, Gautam Gambhir was almost run-out when he was caught in a big mix-up with Sehwag. It was Dilshan again, who missed the direct hit from point. Gambhir departed next ball though, bowled round his legs off a straight ball from Kulasekara.
Three of Kohli's previous four ODI innings have been centuries, the fourth one being a fifty, and his arrival immediately brought stability to the middle. He likes to get forward, and did so to defend solidly. One such push even earned him three runs past extra cover. He slashed his third ball for four past point, and Sehwag soon took over.
A Malinga length ball was driven on the up past extra cover, Kulasekara was slammed down the ground. Mahela Jayawardene took out fine leg and put in deep point inside the mandatory Powerplay. Sehwag's response was to drill Angelo Mathews over cover for four more. In the eleventh over, Sehwag tried to loft Thisara Perera over extra cover but mistimed the stroke. Kulasekara ran in from mid-off and dived forward to take the ball but Sehwag escaped as replays proved inconclusive, as they usually do in such cases.
Two balls later, it was Kohli's turn to escape as Perera failed to hold on to a tough return chance to his left. Kohli was on 16 then. By the halfway mark, the stand had grown to 128, as both batsmen motored to their fifties, Kohli equalling Sachin Tendulkar's Indian record of most consecutive fifty-plus scores.
India hardly looked a side playing their first match in four months as their batsmen pounded Sri Lanka for a 300-plus total. Virat Kohli cracked his third consecutive ODI century against Sri Lanka, his fourth in five innings, and his fifth successive fifty-plus score, equalling the Indian record. Virender Sehwag resembled a man playing his first international game in nearly five months only briefly, before scattering the field with a 97-ball 96. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni made sure India recovered from a slight wobble, adding 79 in nine overs towards the finish.
More to follow ...
25 overs India 135 for 1 (Sehwag 73*, Kohli 55*) v Sri Lanka
He played and missed his first three deliveries, he was let off on 0 and 24, but by the halfway mark, Virender Sehwag had shaken off his rustiness and along with Virat Kohli, put India's powerful line-up on their way to another big total. This is India's first international game in four months, Sehwag's first in nearly five, and the question was how long they would take to get going. Hardly a couple of overs, as it turned out.
India looked rusty initially, as Sehwag struggled in the opening over by Nuwan Kulasekara. In the second over, he sliced Lasith Malinga straight to point, where Tillakaratne Dilshan put it down. In the third over, Gautam Gambhir was almost run-out when he was caught in a big mix-up with Sehwag. It was Dilshan again, who missed the direct hit from point. Gambhir departed next ball though, bowled round his legs off a straight ball from Kulasekara.
Three of Kohli's previous four ODI innings have been centuries, the fourth one being a fifty, and his arrival immediately brought stability to the middle. He likes to get forward, and did so to defend solidly. One such push even earned him three runs past extra cover. He slashed his third ball for four past point, and Sehwag soon took over.
A Malinga length ball was driven on the up past extra cover, Kulasekara was slammed down the ground. Mahela Jayawardene took out fine leg and put in deep point inside the mandatory Powerplay. Sehwag's response was to drill Angelo Mathews over cover for four more. In the eleventh over, Sehwag tried to loft Thisara Perera over extra cover but mistimed the stroke. Kulasekara ran in from mid-off and dived forward to take the ball but Sehwag escaped as replays proved inconclusive, as they usually do in such cases.
Two balls later, it was Kohli's turn to escape as Perera failed to hold on to a tough return chance to his left. Kohli was on 16 then. By the halfway mark, the stand had grown to 128, as both batsmen motored to their fifties, Kohli equalling Sachin Tendulkar's Indian record of most consecutive fifty-plus scores.