SL VS IND - 1st ODI, India tour of Sri Lanka, 2017

Right then. A typical experiment chant from Kohli. The ask for some responsibility from Tharanga. The quest is now for Thursday..the quest is now for some competition as we'd be heading back to Pallekele. I've been Vineet Anantharaman snoozing off in the esteemed company of Sagar Chawla, Abhishek Chaudhary, Ramakrishnan, Sriram and Naga. Ta ta!!

Stat highlights:

- 197* - Highest 2nd wicket stand for Ind in SL. Previous: 188 by Dhoni - Gambhir, RPS, 2009.

- Fewest overs to chase down 200+ target (full 50 overs ODIs):
20.3 WI v Can, Centurion, 2003
26.0 Aus v Ban, Dhaka, 2011
26.2 Pak v Ind, Lahore, 1997
28.5 Ind v SL, Dambulla, 2017

- Biggest win for Ind in terms of balls to spare & biggest loss for SL.

- 132* by Dhawan is the highest by an Indian in a run chase in ODIs in SL
Previous: 128* by Kohli vs SL, RPS, 2012

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Virat Kohli (2/2): "I feel we need to start planning for the 2019 World Cup around 24 months in advance, try to experiment a bit here and there. We are taking that as a challenge and are looking to try out different things, things we wouldn't do usually. You can see a lot of surprises over the next few games. All the guys have bought into it and I am very excited. We thought Axar was a gun fielder and he brings his batting into play; and felt that one wrist spinner is enough. Also, Axar is a power-hitting batsman capable of hitting the big shots and that helps us. If we get a dry wicket we could go in with three spinners and a fast bowling all-rounder. At the start of a series we need to up our batting and Axar brings that balance for us as a team."

Virat Kohli (1/2): "They got off to a very good start. We thought we'd be chasing something close to 300; it was a brilliant wicket for batting. The whole idea of winning the toss and bowling first was hoping that the wicket would be slightly slow in the day. The ball was coming onto the bat like a dream under lights and Shikhar and me enjoyed batting together. At 129/1 we had a few things to think about but the bowlers came back superbly. The last three months have been a great time for Shikhar. The good thing is that he is capitalizing on his purple patch. He can win you games with the way he bats and we would be looking to keep him in that zone for as long as we can. He is feeling good about his game and is hitting the ball well. When he plays like this he is a match-winner and even in Tests he can win you games with the bat."

"We started well but we did not capitalize after that. Someone should have carried on to get a big one after that. If you want to score 300, conversion of starts is important. This is what we have been lacking for the last 2-3 years. Everyone hasn't been getting runs for us. At one stage it looked like we would get to 300 but unfortunately we couldn't do it. We were restricted to 216 and in the end India played brilliantly. We need to learn from our mistakes here, someone needs to get a big one for us in the future. Even in the bowling, we need to step up," a rather sombre/lost Upul Tharanga

Two cheques, a phone and a couple of trophies and he's taken up all the awards. "Things have been going well for me. I have only kept my focus on the processes and not on the results. The mental freedom helps me keep confidence in myself. You know that you have scored runs and can express yourself freely. I was just positive and was looking to score runs. I just wanted to play on the merit of the ball and keep my focus on," quips Shikhar Dhawan, the Man of the Match

It was a mockery of the bowling, of tactics. Dhawan drove like he does, pulled and tonked like only he does. Kohli on the other hand was in his usual factory mode, churning out yet another anchor in a chase. Their love for the Sri Lankan bowling only grows stronger. So, we end 127 balls before usual and India romp home with nine wickets to spare. Hang on, the presentations aren't far away..

197 runs off 143. 144 in boundaries out of those. Call the cops..this is a murder. And India record their biggest win in terms of balls to spare while chasing a target over 200. Not everyday does Virat Kohli play the second fiddle. He was more than happy to tonight, having the best seat in the house as he watched Dhawan smash it all around. Another show of arrogance here, of authority, of a different class. And the sad state of the scorecard should reflect it all for the Lankans. All they could manage was one wicket, majorly caused by a stroke of luck. What hit them post that proved to be way beyond their league to recover from.

Wanidu Hasaranga to Dhawan, FOUR, and that's the final nail. Moves away, skips down too in the same motion, right to the pitch of it and takes on all the flight as he drills it down. And he's done a tutorial today in this shot. Ends the misery

Wanidu Hasaranga to Dhawan, no run, a leading edge of sorts, looking to flick it against the line. Back to Hasaranga. The rites will wait

Wanidu Hasaranga to Kohli, 1 run, gets the gap this time. Opens up his punch rather late in steering it down to sweeper. Scores level. The field still doesn't come up. Tells you the story

Wanidu Hasaranga to Kohli, no run, walks across, punches it powerfully to cover. The field is partially up

Wanidu Hasaranga to Dhawan, 1 run, a drag down. Rolls his wrists on the pull getting it to backward square leg. 2 needed now

Wanidu Hasaranga [4.0-0-29-0] is back into the attack

Malinga to Kohli, FOUR, the murder. High backlift, equally high elbows and the straight bat - conspire in whacking it down the ground. Once again the yorker gone wrong, this time in the form of a half volley