It was captain vs captain in the 5th ODI between India and Sri Lanka, with Indian skipper Virat Kohli came out on top with his brilliant hundred to steer the men in blue to an emphatic three-wicket win at the JCA Stadium, Ranchi.
Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews also scored a brilliant hundred, his first in the ODIs, to take his team to a competitive total in the final one-dayer. His ton, however, went in vain as Kohli, who was at his dazzling best, anchored the innings to take India home.
“I was running out of partners and that is something others need to learn from this on how to maintain composure,” Kohli said. “If you want to make others to do something else, it has to start from me. I played the helicopter and it came off well, playing in MS’ hometown, it worked well.”
Chasing 287, India was rocked early when last game’s double-century maker Rohit Sharma (9) and in-form Ajinkya Rahane (2) were dismissed cheaply by Mathews. Ambati Rayudu and Virat Kohli helped India recover by stitching a 136-run partnership for the third wicket.
The partnership was broken owing to a terrible mix-up in the middle with Shaminda Eranga was spot on with his throw. Rayudu (59), however, made a useful contribution for the team again in the series and put India on course of chasing the target.
“Enjoyed the partnership with Kohli,” Rayudu said. “Run outs happen. Our understanding will improve as we will play more. But more importantly, he finished the game. It’s a good win for us going into Australia and hopefully we will keep working hard.”
The dismissal of Rayudu, meanwhile, opened floodgates as the Indian team kept losing wickets on regular intervals. Debutant Kedar Jadhav (20) and Stuart Binny (12) looked good, but threw their wickets at crucial junctures.
Ajantha Mendis took four wickets for the Islanders but it wasn’t enough as the mystery-spinner failed to breach Kohli’s defences. Kohli (139 not out) made a good partnership with Axar Patel (17 not out) and finished the match with a soaring hit.
“Unfortunately we did not play good cricket once again and India did play very well,” Mathews said. “It was a tough wicket. I thought I needed to hang in there and build a partnership with Thirimanne and later i had a go and it clicked.”
“We batted pretty well and 287 was a huge score on this pitch,” he added. “But Kohli batted very well and best of luck to them in Australia. We got to flush this out of the system as soon as possible and need to gear up for the England series.”
