INDIA AND SRI LANKA PLAY OUT THRILLING TIE IN FIRST ODI
Sri Lanka 230 for 8 (Wellalage 67*, Nissanka 56, Axar 2-33, Arshdeep 2-47) tied with India 230 (Rohit 58, Axar 33, Asalanka 3-30, Hasaranga 3-58)
At 101 for 5, Sri Lanka were on the verge of an all-too-familiar collapse against India, but they somehow found a way to stay in the contest both with bat and ball and ended up tying the match. Leading Sri Lanka for the first time in ODI cricket, it was Charith Asalanka who sealed the dramatic result by dismissing Shivam Dube and No. 11 Arshdeep Singh off successive balls on a slow, dry Khettarama turner, with the crowd jiving and grooving to his tunes.
With India needing five off 18 balls with just two wickets in hand, it was anybody's game. Dube was threatening to switch into his IPL spin-hitting mode. He had just picked a legbreak from Wanindu Hasaranga and whacked it over wide long-on for six. Asalanka had the option to bring on Asitha Fernando or debutant Mohamed Shiraz, but he took the responsibility upon himself on a surface that had already been used for Qualifier 2 in the LPL last month, and delivered for Sri Lanka.
After playing out the first two balls of the 48th over, Dube flayed the third through the covers and tied the scores. Asalanka pinned Dube lbw next ball with a slider from around the wicket for 25 off 24 balls. Dube was originally given not out, but a successful review from Asalanka overturned the on-field decision and brought the crowd alive. Asalanka then put Colombo in party mode when he also had Arshdeep lbw for a duck next ball. Asalanka had darted in another slider from around the wicket, and Arshdeep missed a slog sweep and was trapped in front.
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