India Faces Sri Lanka in First ODI: A Battle of Wickets

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the first One Day International (ODI) match between India and Sri Lanka, held in the vibrant city of Colombo on Friday.

In this match, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Currently, they are at 102 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, having played 27.5 overs. The early overs saw a flurry of wickets fall as India’s bowlers made their mark.

Pathum Nissanka was a standout performer, scoring 56 runs off 75 balls, hitting 9 fours. Unfortunately, his effort came to a premature end when he was dismissed by Washington Sundar in a check on the scoreboard.

Sadly, it wasn’t a great day for Sri Lanka’s other top-order batsmen. Avishka Fernando got out cheaply for just 1 run, and Kusal Mendis followed shortly after, scoring only 14 runs before falling to Shivam Dube.

The woes continued for the Sri Lankan side as Sadeera Samarawickrama managed only 8 runs. Charith Asalanka, who is also the captain, contributed 14 runs but could not stay long at the crease, being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav.

As play progressed, Janith Liyanage and Dunith Wellalage are currently at the crease, with Liyanage on 3 runs and Wellalage yet to score. Sri Lanka’s innings so far has been a tough fight against an aggressive Indian bowling lineup.

The Indian bowlers have been impressive, with Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh keeping things tight. Siraj took one wicket for just 11 runs in 4 overs, while Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Kuldeep Yadav also took important wickets.

This exciting clash takes place at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Khettarama, under the watchful eyes of the officials, including umpires Joel Wilson from West Indies and Paul Reiffel from Australia.