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Monday, 3 November 2014 00:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane both raised hundreds during a 231-run opening stand, India v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, Cuttack, November 2, 2014- BCCI
The pre-series talk of Sri Lanka having arrived underprepared, and wielding a green attack, proved startlingly accurate, as they were defeated by 169 runs. The Dhawan-Rahane partnership had produced 37 more runs than the 194 Sri Lanka managed in their whole innings.
Suraj Randiv’s first ODI in three year’s had been going okay until his third over - the 21st of the innings. Kumar Sangakkara had been among the first to suggest Sri Lanka would head into this series underdone, and although he had fulfilled his own prophecy by dropping one catch each off Dhawan and Rahane, Sri Lanka had managed to keep India in check, conceding only 90 from the first 20 overs. But then the bloodbath began.
Rahane reached his fifty with a single off the second ball of that Randiv over, before Dhawan took strike and embarked on the first bona-fide charge of the innings. He paddle-swept Randiv fine for four first, then reverse-paddled him for an almost symmetrical boundary, before running at the bowler to crash him over long on, to bring up his own half-century. That was the moment the engine de-coupled and set off at the breakneck speed, on its own. The scoring barely eased from there, and even then, not until these two had been separated.
The batsmen completed their tons in quick succession; Rahane hitting his off 99 balls, before Dhawan launched Seekkuge Prasanna over midwicket to get to his milestone off 96. Having matched each other step-for-step in their partnership, they were both dismissed off innocuous balls too. Dhawan swept a floated Ashan Priyanjan ball on to his foot, and then deflected the ball on to leg stump on 113. Three overs later, Rahane lobbed a Randiv full toss straight to mid off, on 111.
Sri Lanka’s top order, save for Mahela Jayawardene, was visibly rusty. Tillakaratne Dilshan thrashed his way to 18 from 22, but never appeared at ease, before edging Umesh Yadav behind in the ninth over. Upul Tharanga is one of the few Sri Lanka batsmen who had had recent match practice going into this game, but his 28 from 53 sucked the air out of Sri Lanka’s start, and sent the already-daunting required rate on its ascent.
Ishant Sharma claimed Sangakkara for the first of his four wickets when he sent a short one across the batsman to take his outside edge. And though Jayawardene hit a dainty but dangerous 43 from 36, he had already begun running out of top-order partners with whom a serious challenge to India’s total could be launched. The middle and lower order was crushed under the heft of the task that had been left to them.
The rust in Sri Lanka’s cricket was evident in the loss, but with four more matches coming up in the next two weeks and the World Cup on the horizone, they will need to shake themselves back to their best quickly.
Chief Scores: India 363 for 5 (Dhawan 113, Rahane 111) beat Sri Lanka 194 (Jayawardene 43, Ishant 4-34) by 169 runs
