Sri Lanka vs India, 4th ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: India tour of Sri Lanka, 2017 Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Date & Time: Aug 31, 02:30 PM LOCAL

Manish Pandey scored an unbeaten half-century in India's innings. © Agencies

Over in a flash: India win by 168

Angelo Mathews top-edged a sweep off Axar Patel for 70 and Sri Lanka were bowled out before one could say Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas.

Kuldeep Yadav draws the curtains on the latest of the one-sided encounters in this tour by accepting a caught & bowled from V. Fernando and then bowling Malinga off the very next delivery. India already have one foot on Sri Lanka's throat in the series and continue to punch away.

This 168-run defeat is the heaviest for Sri Lanka in home ODIs. These unwanted stats keep piling up. How do they end this misery? There's only two more games to go in the tour.

135 v Pak, RPS, 2015

SL continue to slide

Hasaranga briefly upped the hopes with some big hits, but in his overzealousness, he gets himself run out for 22. Sri Lanka are closer to another big defeat

Fifty-run stand

This maybe over as a contest, but Mathews and Siriwardene are ensuring Sri Lanka don't throw in the towel just yet. They put on fifty runs to help Sri Lanka go past the 100 run mark. The required rate has gone past 10 though, and the hosts need to get a move on before long.

It doesn't stay for too long, though. Siriwardene edges Hardik Pandya to be out for 39.

Make that four

Lahiru Thirimanne, Sri Lanka's hero from the last game, perishes cheaply now as Sri Lanka's slide gets more rapid. A short and wide delivery from Hardik Pandya, and Thirimanne's uppish cut finds deep point. 68/4 Sri Lanka

Three down

India celebrate a wicket ©

Another wicket down to the human snickometer, that is MS Dhoni. Munaweera is strangled down the leg side. The umpire doesn't think so but Dhoni goes to the third umpire and has his way!

Sri Lanka are 40 for 3 after 10 overs. Hardik time. Remember, he may have to bowl 10 overs today. No Jadhav, although Gokul pings that he spotted Virat Kohli bowling in the nets yesterday!

A run-out now

Sri Lanka aren't helping their cause through this so called 'crisis'. A non-existent run but Munaweera takes a couple of steps for realisation. Non-striker Mendis is half way down the pitch. KL Rahul gets a direct hit. Gone!

SL 26/2

. Wicket No. 1 - Dickwella's pyrotechnics end

Boom and bust for Dickwella once more and India's new No.10 gets off the mark in ODIs. Shardul will have only Dhoni to thank for this wicket for only the Indian wicketkeeper heard a noise as the Shardul drifted one down the leg side. Dhoni convinces Kohli into going for a review.

There's a spike on ultraedge as ball passes glove. Gone!

MS Dhoni constantly in the debutant's ear, talking about lines and field placements. Good to see.

No 10 for Thakur

Shardul Thakur wears the number 10 jersey, which if I can recollect correctly was worn before by a certain Sachin Tendulkar. No pressure, Shardul.

Should the jersey have been retired, though?

Pandey gets to 50; India finish with 375

Given the Rohit-Kohli partnership, India might feel they've finished about 20-25 short! To say that after scoring 375 says something about how those two went. The middle-order caved again, this time in search of quick runs and it needed a brief recovery and then late onslaught from Dhoni and Pandey to get India to where they finished.

Pandey gives a good account of himself with a half-century off 42 balls. Dhoni finishes on 49* off the same no. of deliveries. The 101-run stand has put India in control. When have they not been on this tour?

Mountain of a target ahead of the hosts!

300th ODI gift

says Deepu Narayana seated next to me as Munaweera drops a sitter off a Dhoni heave. We can have a 5minute blooper video of Sri Lanka on the field. Naturally Dhoni has clubbed a six and a four not too long after that drop. Much burn.

Dhoni, Pandey pick up pace

The duo did well to steady the innings as a flurry of wickets went down. Now into the final stretch of the innings, it's time to throw the bat around. They're doing that just fine. Pandey the aggressor, for now. Expect Dhoni to have his say soon.

No more 400

India have hit a block in the last few overs. Only 20 runs have come in the last five overs, and India's targets have drooped suddenly. They should now be happy with 350.

Should India Start playing MSD@5&Hardik@6 ??? need 6 bowling options going ahead for WC2019 @cricbuzz @vishaal_CB

2 0

He's reinvented himself, in terms of his batting technique and letting other finish games while he plays the safety net, but Dhoni continues to be one of India's best batters. He's had two back-to-back against-the-wall knocks that have reinforced his value in the team. He'll be hoping to cap his 300th ODI with a big one. Or if you know Dhoni, maybe he'll just hope the team can win without any need for him.

INTRO

Hey ho! Hello!

Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI with the series done and dusted. What do we call this?

A contest? Not if you've seen the rest of the Sri Lanka-India games this past month.

A dead rubber? Not if you go by what the players have to say.

India have handed Sri Lanka a whipping every time the two teams have taken the field over the course of this tour. Three Tests - 3-0 to India. Three ODIs - 3-0 to India. The game and its fans, some of them Indian too, are crying out for something to break this terrible monotony, this despicable one-sidedness.

England and Bangladesh have proven that the applecart can be upset. Maybe Sri Lanka can follow suit.

Can this fourth ODI provide us with that? What do you think? Send in your thoughts on submissions@iccwin-bet.com, or tweet to me at @vishaal_CB.