India skipper Virat Kohli wanted his team to be ruthless and the hosts did exactly just and showed no mercy in the third one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad by handing yet another thumping defeat to the Islanders on Sunday.
Team India won the encounter by six wickets and also clinched the five-match series handsomely, with two matches still remaining. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who made his 11th ODI fifty, and bowlers led by pacer Umesh Yadav played instrumental role in India’s big win.
The Lankan Lions after electing to bat first only managed to post 242 runs, which by no means were challenging. Team India displayed a dominating performance to chase down the total with 35 balls to spare.
Earlier, Indian bowlers ripped through the Lankan batting once again to restrict them on a paltry total. Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan were the standout performers, but none of the Lankan batsmen managed to put a fight.
Umesh was the wrecker-in-chief and provided Sri Lanka the early jolts by dismissing Kusal Perera and Kumar Sangakkara. He also took a couple of wickets at the end to finish with his best bowling figures in the ODIs and also wrapped up the Lankan tail.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel again had a good day with the ball and finished with three wickets. Dhawal Kulkarni, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ambati Rayudu took one wicket apiece.
“We flopped in our batting once again,” Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews said. “You cannot keep repeating mistakes. 300 is a must for Indian wickets. 240 is nothing for bowlers to bowl at.”
“About three-four wickets fell in the Powerplay with minimum runs, which went against us,” he added. “We are trying our combinations, we want to recognise our strengths and weaknesses going into the World Cup.”
India was never under threat while chasing the target as Ajinkya Rahane and Dhawan gave India another good start. Rahane (31) was the first to go, but Dhawan (93) and Ambati Rayudu (35) stitched a 69-run partnership for the second wicket.
Rayudu was dismissed following a terrible mix up but then it was Kohli’s turn to join forces with Dhawan and drove India close to the total. Dhawan was unlucky to be given out, while Kohli (53) also dismissed just before the finishing line.
“Happy the way I was batting,” Dhawan said. “Batting in a very controlled manner, enjoying the rhythm. Earlier I was getting 25-30s, now I am getting 80-90s. Once I get set, I will bat according to the situation. At times you can hit big shots, but you don’t want to because of the situation.”
