Table of Contents
Team India thrashed Sri Lanka in the first One-Day International (ODI) of the ongoing three-match series by seven wickets at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
Chasing a paltry target of 263, the visitors won the match in 36.4 overs with seven wickets in hand. Captain Shikhar Dhawan led from the front, playing an unbeaten knock of 86 runs to get his side over the finish line. Dhawan took his time and made sure that he stays alive till the end. The left-handed opener scored 86 off 95 balls, with the help of 6 fours and a six.
Apart from the skipper, the young duo of Prithvi Shaw and Ishan Kishan also shined with the willow. Shaw gave India a flying start by scoring a quickfire 43 from 24 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries.
On the other hand, Ishan completely dominated the proceedings and smashed a tremendous half-century on his ODI debut. The explosive left-handed batsman made 59 from 42 balls, including eight fours and two maximums.
Earlier, the hosts posted 262/9 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to Chamika Karunaratne, who scored an unbeaten 43 off 35 to push his team’s total beyond the 250-run mark. Captain Dasun Shanaka and Charith Asalanka also chipped in with crucial runs down the order. While Shanaka made 39 from 50 deliveries, Asalanka smashed 38 off 65 balls.
For the touring party, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar bagged a couple of wickets each, whereas Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal) shared one wicket apiece.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
India B.
B for Brilliant.#INDvsSL Ruthless win, great to watch. pic.twitter.com/3j1MsVWBxE— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) July 18, 2021
What a game from India, winning by 7 wickets. Well played! The chase: Shikhar Dhawan anchoring the team with a great innings. Shaw and Kishan having exciting knocks, and scenes caused by Sky at the end 😍 the depth in Team India is lit. #SLvIND
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) July 18, 2021
Congratulations #TeamIndia for the comprehensive victory. Responsible knock from the skipper @SDhawan25. Great start to the series @BCCI #INDvSL
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) July 18, 2021
A thoroughly convincing win for Team India. A calm , composed captain's Innings from @SDhawan25 . Prithvi Shaw , Ishan Kishan were brilliant with their strokeplay, and so was Surya Kumar Yadav at the end. Fantastic win #INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/o9OWj1RuMU
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) July 18, 2021
That audacity from ishan kishan. Wow,welcome to the new indian team!#INDvsSL
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) July 18, 2021
Again serious intent from @surya_14kumar makes a case for himself.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) July 18, 2021
Victory by 80 balls to spare!
This equals India's biggest ODI win against any opponent while chasing a target over 250.
Equals the 80 balls to spare win at Hobart on 28 Feb 2012 also against Sri Lanka (320/4, India 321/3 in 36.4 overs).#SLvInd #SLvsInd #IndvSL— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) July 18, 2021
Meanwhile, in Colombo Ishan Kishan has just hit the first ball of his ODI career for six & his second for four. Kishan was replacing Shaw at the crease who had just scored 43 off 24. A reminder this is an ODI, not a T20I. The new age of Indian batting is ferocious. #SLvIND
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) July 18, 2021
Hello @ArjunaRanatunga! pic.twitter.com/t6N6YDee9h
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) July 18, 2021
What a win! 🇮🇳🧡#TeamIndia win the first ODI by 7 wickets 💪#SLvIND #OrangeArmy #OrangeOrNothing
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) July 18, 2021
Comprehensive win for India. They’ve not lost an ODI in SL since July 2012. Key takeaways: Kuldeep-Chahal’s impressive performance.Amazing hitting from Prithvi, Ishan Kishan. Suryakumar impressed as well. Captain’s knock from Shikhar Dhawan. Fittingly hit the winning run #SLvIND
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) July 18, 2021
Prithvi 43 off 24
Ishan 59 off 42
Surya 31 off 20Manish 26 off 40
Manish's approach has looked so outlandish to the way youngsters batted today. A generational shift.#SLvIND
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 18, 2021
⚡️ Blistering start by Shaw
© Captain’s knock from Dhawan
🤩 Ishan’s entertaining fifty on debutPerfect run-chase for #TeamIndia 🇮🇳💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #SLvIND @ishankishan51 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/4KCaQQqtrC
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) July 18, 2021
The Captain scoring the winning run. Always a sight to behold!🔥
India 1-0 up in the ODI seriesTune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 1 (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/QYC4z57UgI) now! 📺#SLvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #HungerToWin #ShikharDhawan pic.twitter.com/nPltAu8Sxw
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 18, 2021
W-all of us right now 🥳🥳
Blistering start by 🇮🇳#SLvIND #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/8t6fvclfn1
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) July 18, 2021
😎 A SOLID WIN! Thanks to some stunning batting, led from the front by Captain Dhawan, India register a comfortable lead in the ODI series 👊🏼
📸 Getty • #INDvSL #SLvIND #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/zIMsDxLCm9
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) July 18, 2021
A comprehensive 7-wicket win for #TeamIndia to take 1-0 lead in the series🙌
How good were these two in the chase! 👏👏
8⃣6⃣* runs for captain @SDhawan25 👊
5⃣9⃣ runs for @ishankishan51 on ODI debut 💪Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/rf0sHqdzSK #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/BmAV4UiXjZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 18, 2021
As easy as Team India's 1, 2 and 3 😌💙
A top order batting masterclass from 🇮🇳 gives us a comfortable win in the 1st ODI 🔥🙌#SLvIND #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/gJnGo0YTRx
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) July 18, 2021
Comfortable 7 wicket win for India as Shikhar Dhawan carried his bat on 86* #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/tJbPibD4hW
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) July 18, 2021
What a win for India, chase down 263 runs from just 36.4 overs with Dhawan 86*(95), Shaw 43(24), Ishan 59(42) and Suryakumar Yadav 31*(20) and won the match by 7 wickets, take 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. #SLvIND
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 18, 2021