India botched up a 231-run chase against Sri Lanka in the first ODI at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2. Playing on a challenging surface in Colombo, the Men in Blue matched the Lankan Lions' score of 230 but Arshdeep Singh fell on a golden duck, in an attempt for a glory shot in the 48th over.
India have now surpassed Australia in the list of most tied matches played in ODI cricket. This was their 10th tie in the format, which brings them to the second place, behind West Indies.
Most tied matches in ODI cricket:
West Indies: 11
India: 10
Australia: 9
England: 9
Pakistan: 9
Zimbabwe: 8
Sri Lanka opted to bat first and laboured their way to 230, after being in danger of getting bowled out for below 200. Opener Pathum Nissanka scored 56 but none of the middle-order batters made a decent contribution. Dunith Wellalage's 67 bailed the hosts out and helped them recover.
In the run-chase, India were put in major trouble despite a fifty from Rohit Sharma. From 80/1, the visitors went down to 189/6. A 57-run stand from KL Rahul and Axar Patel bailed the visitors out but the trouble was far from over. Shivam Dube's cameo helped India but the visitors lost the game as Arshdeep was plumbed out LBW off captain Charith Asalanka in the 48th over.
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was disappointed with the tie. "The score was gettable, you had to bat well to get there. We batted well in patches. No consistent momentum. We had the upper hand, we lost a couple of wickets. With the KL-Axar partnership, we came back. Little disappointing at the end. These things happened. Sri Lanka played well. In the end, it was a fair result. It (pitch) remained the same. It's not where you can come and play your shots. You have to dig in. The game shifted towards both teams at different times. We should have got that one run," he said in the post-match presentation.
For his golden contribution in the first innings and two wickets in the second, Dunith Wellalage was adjudged the Player of the Match.
