India received a drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka in the third and final One Day International (ODI) on Wednesday at the R Premadasa Stadium. The Men in Blue were beaten by 110 runs as Sri Lanka won the series 2-0. With this, India lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka after 27 years.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers had field day, putting up 89 runs for the first wicket. Avishka Fernando came close to a ton, only to fall at 96. Sri Lanka posted a total of 248 for the loss of seven wickets in their 50 overs following an overall good batting display.
For India, Riyan Parag emerged as a surprise star. The part-timer picked up three wickets delivering nine overs at an economy of 6. Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav all shared a wicket apiece.
However, the Lankan bowlers wreaked havoc on the Indian line-up. Dunith Wellalage got five wickets to completely destroy any hopes of India leveling the series. He was supported by Maheesh Theekshana and Jefferey Vandersay who got two wickets each, while Asitha Fernando also picked one to restrict the Indian batters for a paltry 138.
India have now lost their first ODI series under new head coach Gautam Gambhir. The balance of the team is far from what it was and the selectors and team management will have to get back to the drawing board.
