Sri Lanka spinners Praveen Jayawickrama and Akila Dananjaya took five wickets for 38 runs after a long rain break to stage a spirited comeback in the third and final ODI against India in Colombo. Riding on that, they bowled India out for 225 in 43.1 overs.
Chasing 227 under D/L calculations, Sri Lanka went past the finishing line with 48 balls to spare, thanks to a 109-run second-wicket stand between Avishka Fernando and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. After suffering back-to-back defeats in the opening two games, it was only a consolation win for Sri Lanka, which came on their home soil for the first time in nine years.
Let us have a look at how the Indian players fared in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar Yadav 8.5 (M 3, R 124, Ave 62, SR 123)
Suryakumar notched up his maiden ODI fifty in the second match. He looked in great touch in all three matches, which helped him to bag the Player of the Series award – that too in his first outing.
Shikhar Dhawan 7.5 (M 3, R 128, Ave 64, SR 89, C 3)
Dhawan saw India home in the opening match with a composed, 95-ball 86 not out. He looked solid in the second match as well, but was not at his best in the third. He also held three catches; only Manish Pandey held as many.
Deepak Chahar 7 (M 2, W 4, Ave 22.50, Ec 6.80, R 69, SR 84)
Deepak Chahar became the toast of India after his career-best 69 in the second match. He was a bit expensive for his four wickets.
Yuzvendra Chahal 7 (M 2, W 5, Ave 20.40, Ec 5.10)
With five scalps at an economy rate of 5.10, Chahal finished as the top wicket-taker. In the second match, he removed Minod Bhanuka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa with successive deliveries to get India back into the contest.
Prithvi Shaw 6.5 (M 3, R 105, Ave 35, SR 125)
Shaw played some glorious shots at the top and finished with 105 runs at 125. However, he always seemed to be in a hurry, which cost him his maiden ODI fifty.
Ishan Kishan 6 (M 2, R 60, SR 130, C 2)
Kishan hit a six off the first ball he faced on ODI cricket. As on T20I debut, he hit a fifty this time as well. He also held two catches behind the stumps. He was left out for the uncapped Sanju Samson in the third ODI.
Chetan Sakariya 6 (M 1, W 2, Ave 17, Ec 4.25)
Sakariya was excellent on debut with his variations and steep bounce. India should use him regularly in the limited-overs cricket from here on.
Krunal Pandya 5 (M 2, R 35, SR 65, W 1, Ave 63, Ec 3.50)
With 1-26 in ten overs, Krunal Pandya was India’s best bowler in the opening match. He also got an important 54-ball 35 in the second to help India script a memorable victory.
Rahul Chahar 5 (M 1, W 3, Ave 18, Ec 5.40)
Chahar bowled accurately and created the most wicket-taking chances for India. He will look to continue this in the T20Is.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5 (M 2, W 3, Ave 39, Ec 6.15, R 19, SR 68)
With 3-54 and a clinical unbeaten 19, Bhuvneshwar was instrumental in the second match. He made a little impact before that, returning 0-63 in 9 overs.
Manish Pandey 4 (M 3, R 74, SR 82, C 3)
Pandey is running out of time. He got starts in all three games but did not convert any of them into anything major. However, to be fair, he had an unfortunate run out in the second match.
Sanju Samson 3.5 (M 1, R 46, SR 100, ST 1)
Samson was not at his prime during his run-a-ball 46. He could easily have converted it to a three-figure score. He stumped Chamika Karunaratne at lightning speed.
Kuldeep Yadav 3 (M 2, W 2, Ave 51.50, Ec 5.42)
Kuldeep impressed in the first match but went wicketless in the second, conceding 55.
Hardik Pandya 2.5 (M 3, R 19, SR 95, W 2, Ave 48.5, Ec 6.92)
Hardik has been having a rough patch since the IPL. He had a three-ball duck and a 17-ball 19, and was barely used as a bowler.
Nitish Rana 1.5 (M 1, R 7, SR 50)
Coming at unpreferred No. 7, Rana made 14-ball 7 on debut. He also bowled.
K Gowtham 1.5 (M 1, W 1, Ave 49, Ec 6.12)
After playing two balls, Gowtham missed a full-toss under the light to return to the pavilion. He finished with 1-49 in eight overs.
Navdeep Saini 1 (M 1, W 0, Ec 5.40)
Saini was wayward in the opening spell and was only used for five overs.