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20 overs India 155 for 3 (Kohli 68, Raina 34*, Eranga 2-30) v Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli made another half-century © AFP
Virat Kohli continued his imperious run, helping India post 155 in their final game of the tour of Sri Lanka. Kohli was in complete command, picking gaps at will, finding boundaries with minimum effort and even off the occasional mistimed shot. Sri Lanka's bowlers targeted the off side, Kohli's preferred areas being through square leg and midwicket, and bowled to their field, but such was his dominance that no part of the ground was secure. However, the hosts staged a fightback at the death to limit India to a score lesser than what they looked good to get when Kohli was going strong.
The game began brightly for Sri Lanka, with Shaminda Eranga completing a unique achievement; his wicket off Gautam Gambhir meant he's now picked up a wicket in the first over of his debuts in Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals. But Kohli's entry to the crease ensured that early high was short-lived.
The seamers got some early swing and, to their credit, they varied their lengths to Kohli but that was as much as they could do. A short ball from Angelo Mathews was clubbed over midwicket, a good length delivery next ball was guided through point and Eranga was taken for fours to each part of the off side - point, extra cover and then mid-off, though two of those shots were mistimed.
When Thisara Perera was brought on in the sixth over, he made the mistake of bowling too straight and was promptly struck for three fours in a row, two past short fine leg. His low backlift helped Kohli to adapt easily to deliveries that were pushed in fuller and his wristwork, as always, was his primary weapon. Thirty-six off his first 38 runs came in boundaries, and Ajinkya Rahane watched the onslaught from the other end.
The introduction of spin after the field restrictions slowed India down, and accounted for Rahane's wicket as he drove one straight back at Jeevan Mendis. Overs nine to 12 yielded only 25, though they included a six and a four from Kohli as he charged out of the crease on each occasion.
Suresh Raina walked in ahead of Rohit Sharma and picked up a couple of neatly-clipped fours off Eranga and Perera through the leg side. Kohli survived a close run-out chance but following a stand of 48, he timed one shot a touch too well, smacking a slower one from Eranga straight to deep midwicket. There were some hits and misses from MS Dhoni that gave him some frustrating moments, but Raina struck the ball cleanly, clearing long-off against a length ball from Malinga.
Sri Lanka, though, got their lengths right towards the death, aiming for the blockhole, proving difficult to dispatch. With Dhoni and Raina in the middle in the final overs, India would have expected more than the 35 the team managed in the last five. Can Sri Lanka's batsmen make India rue that slip?
Virat Kohli made another half-century © AFP
Virat Kohli continued his imperious run, helping India post 155 in their final game of the tour of Sri Lanka. Kohli was in complete command, picking gaps at will, finding boundaries with minimum effort and even off the occasional mistimed shot. Sri Lanka's bowlers targeted the off side, Kohli's preferred areas being through square leg and midwicket, and bowled to their field, but such was his dominance that no part of the ground was secure. However, the hosts staged a fightback at the death to limit India to a score lesser than what they looked good to get when Kohli was going strong.
The game began brightly for Sri Lanka, with Shaminda Eranga completing a unique achievement; his wicket off Gautam Gambhir meant he's now picked up a wicket in the first over of his debuts in Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals. But Kohli's entry to the crease ensured that early high was short-lived.
The seamers got some early swing and, to their credit, they varied their lengths to Kohli but that was as much as they could do. A short ball from Angelo Mathews was clubbed over midwicket, a good length delivery next ball was guided through point and Eranga was taken for fours to each part of the off side - point, extra cover and then mid-off, though two of those shots were mistimed.
When Thisara Perera was brought on in the sixth over, he made the mistake of bowling too straight and was promptly struck for three fours in a row, two past short fine leg. His low backlift helped Kohli to adapt easily to deliveries that were pushed in fuller and his wristwork, as always, was his primary weapon. Thirty-six off his first 38 runs came in boundaries, and Ajinkya Rahane watched the onslaught from the other end.
The introduction of spin after the field restrictions slowed India down, and accounted for Rahane's wicket as he drove one straight back at Jeevan Mendis. Overs nine to 12 yielded only 25, though they included a six and a four from Kohli as he charged out of the crease on each occasion.
Suresh Raina walked in ahead of Rohit Sharma and picked up a couple of neatly-clipped fours off Eranga and Perera through the leg side. Kohli survived a close run-out chance but following a stand of 48, he timed one shot a touch too well, smacking a slower one from Eranga straight to deep midwicket. There were some hits and misses from MS Dhoni that gave him some frustrating moments, but Raina struck the ball cleanly, clearing long-off against a length ball from Malinga.
Sri Lanka, though, got their lengths right towards the death, aiming for the blockhole, proving difficult to dispatch. With Dhoni and Raina in the middle in the final overs, India would have expected more than the 35 the team managed in the last five. Can Sri Lanka's batsmen make India rue that slip?