India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 3rd ODI: What went right for the hosts

Rohit Sharma led India to a 2-1 series win as the Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the third and final ODI at Vizag on Sunday.

It was the eighth consecutive ODI series win for India, who haven't lost a bilateral series in any format in 2017.

This is also India's fifth biggest win against Sri Lanka in the fifty-over format while chasing.

The last time Sri Lanka won a bilateral ODI series against India was back in 1997.

Sri Lanka got off to a fantastic start today, but India won almost every over after the 30th of the visitors' innings. A target of 216 was easily achieved, led by another ODI hundred by Shikhar Dhawan, who made batting look incredibly easy.

Now, let's have a look at everything that went right for India, who won their second consecutive three-match series after going 1-0 down.

#5 Dismissing Upul Tharanga

The scorecard of Sri Lanka's innings will serve as a perfect example of how to spoil a clean start. The visitors were enjoying a smooth sailing and Upul Tharanga was clearing the fence at will with some support from the other end too.

Batting on 95, Tharanga looked well-set for his 16th ODI ton but Kuldeep Yadav and MS Dhoni had other plans.

Beaten by a Kuldeep leg-break, Tharanga was dragged out of his crease and Dhoni, in yet another display of his brilliant keeping abilities, plucked the bails off instantly and appealed.

Sri Lanka, who were 160/3 in 27.1 overs, were left so heartbroken after Tharanga's fall that they did not put up a fight at all and were bundled out on 215 in 44.5 overs.

#4 Exerting pressure in the middle overs

It was a must-win encounter for both the teams as India and Sri Lanka came into the final ODI winning one match each. Rohit Sharma, who won his first toss as India captain at Vizag on Sunday, invited Sri Lanka to bat first.

Although Jasprit Bumrah removed visitors' opener Danushka Gunathilaka in the 4th over, by the end of the first Powerplay it seemed that Rohit's decision had backfired already.

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Upul Tharanga stitched up a 121-run partnership as Sri Lanka looked well-set for a score of 300-plus.

Yuzvendra Chahal broke the partnership and got rid of Samarawickrama, while Kuldeep Yadav triggered a batting collapse by removing Tharanga.

Sri Lanka could never recover from 160/3 in 27.1 overs as the Indian bowlers kept pounding pressure on a fragile batting order by striking at regular intervals.

Hardik Pandya, Chahal, and Kuldeep, who accounted for seven Sri Lankan wickets, were so effective and accurate in their dealings that 9 out of 11 visitors' batsmen scored less than 20 runs.

Eventually, Sri Lanka succumbed under pressure and were bowled out for 215 in 44.5 overs.

#3 India's spin twins

Before Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were deployed by Rohit Sharma, it seemed that India would be chasing a 300-plus target in the third and final ODI at Vizag on Sunday.

However, the tide turned in India's favour as MS Dhoni effected a brilliant stumping to remove Upul Tharanga on 95 and Kuldeep's leg break proved to be a catalyst for Sri Lanka's batting collapse.

Soon, Kuldeep and Chahal sliced through the visitors' middle and lower order as Sri Lanka lost eight wickets for 55 runs, before being bowled out for 215 in 44.5 overs.

Chahal and Kuldeep claimed three wickets each and strangled Sri Lanka's middle and lower order as there was never any hope of recovery despite the visitors crossing the 200-run mark in the 36th over.

#2 Partnership between Iyer and Dhawan

Chasing 216 to win, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma in the 4th over but Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer turned the game on its head with a majestic 135-run partnership.

Both Dhawan and Iyer took on Sri Lanka's bowlers right from the outset and made sure that India cruised to a paltry target of 216 in 32.1 overs.

Iyer, playing his third ODI, was very impressive with his pull shots and strokes through the covers as he scored back-to-back fifties against Sri Lanka in the three-match series.

On the other hand, Dhawan, who played a supportive role for Iyer in the beginning, shifted gears and brought up his 12th ODI ton and 4th against Sri Lanka to lead India to a 2-1 series win.

#1 Rohit Sharma's brilliant captaincy

Rohit Sharma's captaincy might have started on a horrendous note in Dharamshala but eventually, he emerged as a winner as India beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in the three-match ODI series at Vizag on Sunday.

Rohit, who smashed his third double hundred in ODIs to propel the hosts to a mammoth 392/4 in 50 overs at Mohali, won the toss and invited Sri Lanka to bat on a flat deck.

Despite a brisk start by Sri Lanka, Rohit kept shuffling his bowlers brilliantly and never allowed the game to drift out of India's hands. Perhaps, this was the only time in the series where we got to see the tactics of Rohit in full flow as he ticked almost all the boxes.

Although Rohit did not contribute with the bat in the final ODI, his astute captaincy was enough for India to win their eighth straight ODI series.