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Rohit Sharma-led Team India surrendered meekly in front of a rampant Sri Lankan team and lost the first of the three-match ODI series by seven wickets. After being invited to bat first, Indian openers fell with only two runs on the board and the rest of the team followed them soon as the hosts were bowled out for 112.
Only two batsmen, MS Dhoni and Kuldeep Yadav showed some resistance. The former skipper scored an 87-ball-65 while the chinaman bowler amassed 19 runs. Suranga Lakmal was the pick of Lankan bowlers with four wickets for 13 runs. Nuwan Pradeep scalped two wickets while rest of the bowlers, Mathews, Perera, Dananjaya and Pathirana got one each.
In reply, Lankan batsmen chased down the score in 20.4 overs, courtesy Upul Tharanga's 49-run knock. Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah and Pandya bagged a wicket each.
Here's what the cricketing fraternity had to say about the match.
Rohit Sharma
"Two games to go, but having said that, we were not up to the mark today with the bat. Not enough runs on the board. The bowlers came out and did what they could. If we had 70-80 more runs, it could have been different, but we lost the match with the bat today. We want to thrive in these type of conditions and come out good. We won't always get to play on flat pitches. Today was not the ideal day for all our batters.
"It was an eye-opener. Hopefully we can regroup and come back in the next two matches. [Dhoni] has done it for so many years and he knows exactly how to bat in these situations. Someone else with him could have made the difference but he was battling alone. Not such a great experience [to lead for the first time], because we lost, but we've got to forget what happened, and come back in the next two games."
Thisara Perera
"First of all we have to give 200% credit to our bowlers. They were disciplined, and bowled the right length and the right areas. This is an unplayable wicket. We didn't expect that. We expected 250-260, but after that Suranga and Angelo bowled very well. At the moment, [Lakmal] is our first fast bowler. He's done very well in the Test series as well. I have to mention that Upul gave a good start and he's one of our best openers."
Angelo Mathews
"It's a very pleasing moment. The past few months have not been good for us, but we've remained confident and worked very hard. Two more games to go, we can't relax. The way Suranga Lakmal set the tone was fantastic, followed by all the other bowlers.
"We never thought it was going to move around that much. We knew it was a bit sticky. In the shorter formats, I've always bowled, and I want to bowl. It's just the workload management in the Test matches, and the selectors were very understanding. I'm very happy to bowl in the shorter formats."
Man of the match Suranga Lakmal
"Last few years have been very good. Credit to the coaching staff who have done a lot of hard work with me. My fitness, my hard work, my health, everything has come together."
Mahela Jayawardene
VVS Laxman
Aakash Chopra
S. Badrinath
Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Yousuf
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