Virat Kohli’s Sublime Century Helps India Beat Sri Lanka

Guwahati: Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka’s century went in vain as the Men in Blue beat the visitors by 67 runs in the first ODI at Guwahati on Tuesday.

India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Put into bat, India posted a mammoth total of 373/7 on the board. Openers Rohit Sharma (83) and Shubman Gill (70) laid the foundation at the top with a 143-run partnership.

Kohli took over from there and scored an 87-ball 113. This was the right-hander’s 45th ton in ODI cricket and his ninth against Sri Lanka in this format. The 34-year-old struck 12 fours and a six in his innings. Shreyas Iyer (28) and KL Rahul (39) also chipped in with handy cameos to power India past the 370-run mark.

In reply, Sri Lanka scored 306/8. Skipper Dasun Shanaka scored a superb century (108*), while opener Pathum Nissanka scored 72. Umran Malik was the pick of the bowlers for India, registering figures of 8-0-57-3.

The second ODI will be played on January 12 in Kolkata.