India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: Virat Kohli’s century, Dasun Shanaka being lone wolf and other talking points

India dominated over their southern neighbours yet again as they thrashed Sri Lanka in the first ODI by 67 runs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

However, what would have excited the Indian fans more than the victory was Virat Kohli’s 73^rd international century, Rohit Sharma amidst runs and diving around in the field, and Umran Malik breaking his own record with a 156 kph delivery.

As India ushers into a new year, which will also see the ODI World Cup towards the business end of the year, the ODI series against Sri Lanka shall be the right start to prepare for the elusive tournament at home.

Sri Lanka’s downfall in the last few years after the retirement of their stalwarts seems to be never-ending despite of their few impressive victories over the period.

That’s that from the 1st ODI.#TeamIndia win by 67 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Scorecard – https://t.co/262rcUdafb #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/KVRiLOf2uf

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023

With international cricket changing its nature altogether, Sri Lanka seem to be failing to keep the momentum of the game.

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It will be worthwhile to see if the Lankan Lions can make a comeback in the second ODI or if India will continue their domination.

For now, let us discuss some of the important pointers from the first ODI:

Virat Kohli’s 73^rd international century

“When Sachin bats well, India sleeps well” has been a famous saying quoted by Harsha Bhogle and that can be replaced with Virat Kohli in the current times.

And so when Kohli reached his 45^th ODI century, the fans in the stadium were elated.

Kohli paced his innings brilliantly, scoring 113 at a strike rate of 129.89. It was a typical Kohli ODI innings wherein he held one end and tried to bat till the end of the innings, getting out only with 11 balls to spare.

Back to back ODI hundreds for @imVkohli