Colombo: India skipper Virat Kohli (131, 96b, 17×4, 1×6) and Rohit Sharma (104, 88b, 11×4, 3×6) produced sublime centuries as India dented Sri Lanka’s chances of a direct World Cup qualification with a thumping 168-run victory in the fourth ODI here, Thursday.
Kohli and Rohit made merry on a batting beauty after early departure of Shikhar Dhawan, to guide India to 375 for five, the highest total posted by a visiting team in an ODI in Sri Lanka.
The final flourish was provided by comeback man Manish Pandey (50 n o, 42b, 4×4) and MS Dhoni (49 n o, 42b, 4×4, 1×6), who achieved a memorable milestone of 300 ODIs.
Sri Lanka never looked like getting close to India’s imposing total and were bundled out for 207 in 42.4 overs with Angelo Mathews’ (70, 80b, 10×4) knock being the sole noteworthy batting performance from the hosts. The heavy defeat was also Sri Lanka’s biggest at home in terms of runs.
Chasing a massive 376, the hosts were reduced to 68 for four in 16 overs. However, Mathews and Milinda Siriwardane (39, 43b, 3×4, 2×6) delayed the collapse with a 73-run fifth-wicket stand. The lower order had nothing much to offer as they were bowled out with more than seven overs left.
For India, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (2/31), Jasprit Bumrah (2/32) and Hardik Pandya (2/50) bagged two wickets each while pacer Shardul Thakur (1/26) was impressive on his international debut.
India now lead the five-match series 4-0 and look set to complete another whitewash after blanking Sri Lanka in the preceding three Tests. The final ODI of the five-match series will be played here, September 3.
Things are going from bad to worse for Sri Lanka, who needed to win at least two matches in the ongoing series to seal automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. They can still directly qualify, provided the West Indies don’t win more than three of their upcoming five ODIs against England.
India, opting to bat for the first time in the series, virtually batted the opposition out of the game. Courtesy man of the match Kohli’s 29th ODI hundred and his 219-run second-wicket stand with Rohit who scored back-to-back centuries, India were able to lay the foundation for a massive total.
Pandey too utilised his first chances of the series to the fullest while Dhoni missed out on his 100th ODI half century by a run. The unbroken sixth-wicket partnership between Pandey and Dhoni yielded 101 runs in only 12.2 overs, after Pandya (19, 18b, 1×4, 1×6) who was promoted up the order, and Rohit fell in consecutive Mathews (2/24) deliveries.
Sri Lankan bowlers had a nightmarish time with pacers Lasith Malinga (1/82) who also entered the 300-wicket club in ODIs, and Vishwa Fernando (1/76) taken to task. Akila Dananjaya (1/68) also did not cause any trouble to the batsmen.
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