Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir slammed Sri Lankan bowling after India posted a gargantuan total of 373 runs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Tuesday. The pitch was flat but the visitors’ bowlers didn’t bowl accurately.
The Indian openers – Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma – added a fine alliance of 143 runs for the opening partnership. Both the batters scored multiple boundaries in the first 10 overs as they timed the ball to perfection during the field restriction.
Rohit went on to score 83 off 67 balls whereas Shubman Gill scored 70 runs off 60 balls. Virat Kohli then was able to get going from the word go and played a fine knock.
Kohli scored his 45th ODI hundred as he scored 113 runs off just 87 balls and helped his team post a huge total of 373 runs on the board after Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and decided to field first.
On the other hand, all the Sri Lankan bowlers conceded their runs at an economy rate of more than six. In fact, Kasun Rajitha and Dunith Wellalage conceded their runs at 8.80 and 8.10 runs/over respectively. Thus, the visitors’ bowlers were not at their best and the Indian batters made the most of it.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka was also mundane in the field as Virat Kohli was given two chances. Kusal Mendis dropped Kohli’s catch when he was on 52 and then the right-hander received another reprieve as Dasun Shanaka bungled a catch when Kohli was on 81.
“It was pretty ordinary bowling. The top three of the Indian batting line-up have got lots and lots of runs behind them. Rohit and Kohli obviously, Shubman also has the ability to get so many runs in international cricket. And how easy it was for Rohit and Shubman to get runs today. That was a surprise for me. You have to be consistent and Sri Lanka’s bowling outing was very very disappointing for me,” Gambhir said on Star Sports after the first innings.
Meanwhile, in reply to India’s mammoth score, Sri Lanka is 38-2 after 10 overs.
