Sri Lanka vs India 2017, 4th ODI: 5 talking points

India continued their dominance over Sri Lanka as they trounced their neighbours by 168 runs in the 4th ODI at Colombo to take an unassailable 4-0 lead in the 5-match series. Having already sealed the series in the previous match, Virat Kohli decided to implement some changes in the playing XI by including Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav, and Shardul Thakur while resting Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Batting first, tons from skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma assisted by Manish Pandey’s 50 and MS Dhoni’s 49 took India to a mammoth total of 375/5. Amongst the Lankan bowlers, Angelo Mathews was the pick of them with 2/24 from his 6 overs. While Lasith Malinga was very expensive with 1/82 from his 10 overs, his solitary wicket (that of Virat Kohli) was his 300th ODI wicket which made him only the 4th Sri Lankan after Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, and Sanath Jayasuriya to achieve this feat.

In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 207 with Mathews being the lone fighter with his 80-ball 70. Amongst the Indian bowlers, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets apiece while Shardul Thakur bowled an economical spell on his debut with his 1/26 from 7 overs. Axar Patel took the key wicket of Mathews.

With India close to whitewashing the hosts in the ODI series, let’s take a look at five talking points from today’s match.

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#5. KL Rahul unable to make his mark in ODIs

The 25-year old hasn't been able to replicate his Test performances in ODIs

KL Rahul has been one of India’s most consistent players in Tests in the past 12-15 months as he was brilliant during the Tour of West Indies as well as in the series against New Zealand, England, and Australia. Despite being out of cricket for a good four months due to injury, Rahul managed to perform well in the Tests against Sri Lanka as well and he scored a fifty in each innings he played.

Rahul has also been able to perform well in the T20 format as he scored a monumental 110 against West Indies last year before performing fairly well against England earlier this year where he scored 71 in the second T20I.

However, he has been unable to perform in the ODI format as has been proven in his last few innings. During India’s ODI series against England, the right-hander scored 24 runs in all three ODIs combined at a dismal average of 8 and at an economy rate of 60, whereas he averaged 58.25 during the Test series.

Similarly, against Sri Lanka, he scored 142 from two innings at an average of 71 in tests but has scored 28 runs in his three ODI innings combined, scoring just 7 today. What Rahul can do now is enhance his game so that he can perform in the ODI format too because if he's not able to turn the tides, then he might as well find himself out of the 50-over-team soon.

#4. Sri Lankan batsmen not staying in the crease for long

Lahiru Thirimanne was disappointing today like most of his fellow batsmen

With a target of 376 to chase down, what was expected from the Sri Lankan batsmen was to stay at the crease for a while so that they could settle in and speed up later.

However, there was only one Sri Lankan batsman who played a long innings and that was Angelo Mathews. The Sri Lankan top order just came in and went out with the likes of Niroshan Dickwella, Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Mendis, even Lahiru Thirimanne who has been playing for the national team for a while, all returning to the pavilion shortly.

Only Milinda Siriwardana provided some assistance to Angelo Mathews during their 73-run partnership for the 5th wicket. The lower order also collapsed within the blink of an eye. Lack of longevity was a key reason behind Sri Lanka’s drubbing during the Test series and the same happened today like the other three ODIs.

The Sri Lankan batsmen need to have a lot more composure and temperament because if they don’t, then Sri Lanka may have a lot more problems in upcoming matches.

#3. Angelo Mathews was the only silver lining for Sri Lanka today

Mathews was the only Sri Lankan player who performed today

The Sri Lankan team performed terribly today with almost every single player underperforming. The bowling was disastrous with Lasith Malinga going for 82 runs which was his most expensive 10-over spell since 2015. The likes of Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara went for aplenty while Akila Dananjaya who was the Man of the Match in the 2nd ODI went for nearly 7 an over.

The batting was lacklustre as well with the top order disappointing and most of the remaining batsmen batting poorly. The only player who seemed to put up a fight for Sri Lanka today was Angelo Mathews. The all-rounder bowled a very economical spell of 2/24 from his 6 overs that included the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma on successive deliveries.

Mathews played well with the bat also as his 70 helped Sri Lanka cross 200.

#2. Virat Kohli back to his very best after underperforming in the last two ODIs

The Indian skipper played a true captain's knock

Indian skipper Virat Kohli had a solid start to his ODI series as he smashed 82 from just 70 balls in the opening match at Dambulla to help India chase down 217 in less than 30 overs. However, from then on, his graph went down in the next two matches as he was bowled out for just 4 and 3 in the second and third ODIs respectively at Pallekele.

However, Kohli came back in the best way possible today by playing a sublime knock of 131 from just 96 deliveries to put India in a commanding position.

Kohli’s innings was characterized by wonderful stroke selection, sublime timing, immaculate footwork and wrist-work as he toyed with the opposition’s bowling en route to his 29th ODI century which helped India to a majestic total of 375/5.

Kohli was righteously adjudged the Man of the Match for his superb captain’s knock.

#1. Rohit Sharma continues his good form

Rohit Sharma scored his second consecutive century of the series

After being in the dressing room for the entirety of the Test series, Rohit Sharma had a disappointing start to the ODI series as he scored only 4 from 13 deliveries in the first ODI. However, he rebounded well with a brisk 54 in the second ODI.

In the third ODI, with India struggling at 92/4, Rohit batted beautifully and played a composed knock of 124 from 145 deliveries to help his team win the match and the series. Today, he continued his consistent form with a swift 104 from just 88 deliveries. With India losing Shikhar Dhawan early, the Mumbai Indians skipper batted brilliantly, playing some elegant and confident strokes with sensational footwork. Hitman smashed boundaries all across the ground on the way to his 13th ODI century.