Ind v SL 1st Suranga Lakmal ODI Dharamshala
Suranga Lakmal.

If India’s batting performance in the ongoing first ODI against Sri Lanka on a lively Dharamsala track is a precursor of the things to expect on the pacer-friendly wickets of the upcoming South Africa tour, then it is safe to say that Virat Kohli & Co. will have to a herculean task at their hands if they are looking to win against the Proteas. The team was in a huge spot of bother after being reduced to 29 for 7 before MS Dhoni scored a sublime fifty to bail the team out of trouble and post a respectable 112.

After being asked to bat first, India were off to a disastrous start as Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for a duck  in the second over by Angelo Mathews. And even before the hosts could recover from that setback, Suranga Lakmal jolted them by dismissing Rohit Sharma for just 2. Dinesh Karthik and debutant Shreyas Iyer stopped the rot for a while but failed to ease the pressure as runs were hard to come by.

The partnership was soon broken when Lakmal dismissed Dinesh Karthik for a 18-ball duck. After 10 overs, India were reeling at 11 for 3, which is now their lowest score in the first 10 overs. Lakmal, who had rocked India in the first Test at the Eden Gardens, was not done yet and dismissed Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer to reduce the hosts to 16 for 5.

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Iyer’s dismissal brought together India’s last recognized batsman Hardik Pandya on the crease. The allrounder began on a bright note,hitting two fours before being sent back by Nuwan Pradeep. Lakmal, meanwhile, was not done yet and dismissed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck to leave the Men in Blue reeling at 29 for 7. MS Dhoni and Kuldeep Yadav then gave the innings a much-needed impetus by scoring some quick runs. However, just when it seemed the partnership will bail India out of trouble, Akila Dananjaya dismissed the latter for 19 to end the promising 41-run stand.

But despite wickets falling from one end, Dhoni remained firm from other and scored a brilliant 65 to help India cross the three-digit mark.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the innings:

https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/939754592031481857

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