COLOMBO: Skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit quickfire centuries to set up a 168-run win for India in the fourth One-day International against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The batsmen shared 219 runs for the second wicket off just 168 balls to help India post an imposing 375-5 after the visitors elected to bat at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Sri Lanka barely put up a fight after losing four early wickets for 68 runs, folding up for 207 in 42.4 overs to concede a 4-0 lead to India in the five-match series.

Angelo Mathews top-scored with 70 in an otherwise lacklustre show by the beleaguered hosts.

Debutant seamer Shardul Thakur gave India the first breakthrough when he had opener Niroshan Dickwella caught by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, playing his 300th One-day International.

The batsman was given not-out by the on-field umpire but India decided to review the decision and TV replays showed the ball had brushed the bat.

Sri Lanka could never really recover from the early blow and failed to build the partnerships which were needed to chase the imposing target.

The highlight of the game was the partnership between Kohli and Sharma. Kohli batted with gay abandon, hitting 17 fours and two sixes in his 96-ball 131, while Sharma (104) hammered 11 fours and three sixes in an equally entertaining knock off 88 balls.

Kohli was dismissed by Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Lasith Malinga who completed 300 Test wickets, the 13th bowler overall and fourth Sri Lankan to achieve the feat.

But Dhoni (49) and Manish Pandey (50) added 101 to pile on more misery on the hosts.

Scoreboard

INDIA

R.G. Sharma c Dickwella b Mathews 104 S. Dhawan c Pushpakumara b Fernando 4 V. Kohli c Munaweera b Malinga 131 H.H. Pandya c de Silva b Mathews 19 K.L. Rahul c de Silva b Dananjaya 7 M.K. Pandey not out 50 M.S. Dhoni not out 49 EXTRAS (B-5, W-6) 11 TOTAL (for five wkts, 50 overs) 375 FALL OF WKTS: 1-6, 2-225, 3-262, 4-262, 5-274. DID NOT BAT: S.N. Thakur, A.R. Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, J.J. Bumrah. BOWLING: Malinga 10-0-82-1 (6w); Fernando 8-1-76-1; Mathews 6-2-24-2; Pushpakumara 9-0-65-0; Dananjaya 10-0-68-1; Hasaranga
2-0-19-0; Siriwardana 5-0-36-0.

SRI LANKA:

N. Dickwella c Dhoni b Thakur 14 E.M.D.Y. Munaweera c Dhoni b Bumrah 11 B.K.G. Mendis run out 1 H.D.R.L. Thirimanne c Dhawan b Pandya 18 A.D. Mathews c Thakur b Patel 70 T.A.M. Siriwardana c Dhoni b Pandya 39 W. Hasaranga run out 22 A. Dananjaya not out 11 P.M. Pushpakumara c Pandya b Bumrah 3 M.V.T. Fernando c and b Kuldeep 5 S.L. Malinga b Kuldeep 0 EXTRAS (LB-1, W-12) 13 TOTAL (all out, 42.4 overs) 207 FALL OF WKTS: 1-22, 2-26, 3-37, 4-68, 5-141, 6-177, 7-190, 8-196, 9-207. BOWLING: Thakur 7-0-26-1 (2w); Bumrah 7-0-32-2 (1w); Pandya 8-0-50-2 (4w); Kohli 2-0-12-0; Kuldeep Yadav 8.4-1-31-2; Patel 10-0-55-1 (1w). RESULT: India won by 168 runs to lead five-match series 4-0. UMPIRES: R.R. Wimalasiri (Sri Lanka) and P.R. Reiffel (Australia). TV UMPIRE: J.S. Wilson (West Indies). MATCH REFEREE: Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe). MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Virat Kohli. FIFTH MATCH: Colombo (RPS, D/N), Sunday.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2017