SL VS IND - 1st ODI, India tour of Sri Lanka, 2024

Sri Lanka will be relieved. After three dramatic collapses in the T20Is, another one was on the cards when the Indian spinners were operating in the middle overs. But the lower-order order, especially 21-year-old Wellalage, bailed them out of trouble. There were some unforced errors made by both teams in the second innings and eventually the game ended in a tie with back-to-back reviews. Curtains down on this enthralling game of cricket. We'll be back on Sunday for the second ODI - same venue and same time. For now, it's goodbye and good night...

Charith Asalanka: I did (believe we could defend the total), but we should have done a bit more well to restrict them under 230. In the afternoon, it turned more. Under lights, it became easier to bat. (Bowling himself) The left-hander came in to bat and I thought I could bowl as it spun a lot. I am happy about the the energy in the field and the way the boys played in the second half. Dunith's knock and Nissanka batted extrmely well.

Rohit Sharma: The scores are gettable, it's just that you have to bat well to get that score. We batted well in patches. There was no consistent momentum through the game for us. We started really well with the bat but we knew the game will start after 10 overs once the spinners come in to bowl. We had the upper hand to start with, then we lost a couple of wickets and fell behind the game. With the partnership that KL and Axar had, we again came back into the game pretty well. In the end, little disappointing, 14 balls, 1 run to get. These things happen. Sri Lanka played well. In the end, it was a fair result. It (pitch) remained the same. There was bite in the first 25 overs when we bowled and it was the same for them as well. As the game went on, the seam wore off for both teams and it was a bit easier to bat. It's not where you can just come and play your shots and get runs. You have to apply yourself and dig in really well to get that score. Proud of the way how we fought till the end. The game shifted towards both teams at different times. It was important to hold the nerve and stay in the game. We should have got that one run.

Dunith Wellalage | Player of the Match: I came with a plan. The wicket was turning. Spinners bowled really well, I wanted to put their bowlers under pressure. Me and Janith Liyanage wanted to put some partnership. After that, Wanindu Hasaranga came and we had a good partnership. The wicket was slow. We planned to score 220. Wicket was little bit good during the second innings. Our skipper and Wanindu Hasaranga changed the game. We played a good match today.

At 132/5, the game was poised nicely. KL Rahul and Axar batted sensibly until the former tried to slogsweep Hasaranga. That high-risk shot brought back Sri Lanka into the contest. Asalanka accounted for the well-set Axar and when Kuldeep fell to Hasaranga, Sri Lanka were on top. The pendulum once again swung towards India with Dube smashing two sixes and a boundary. India needed just one run to win but Asalanka - Sri Lanka's new captain - provided the killer blow by trapping Dube and Arshdeep lbw off successive deliveries.

Opting to bat, Sri Lanka recovered from 101/5 to post a fighting total of 230, thanks to Dunith Wellalage's maiden half-century who stitched three crucial partnerships. In reply, Rohit got his team off to a flier with a 33-ball fifty and India scored 71 without losing a wicket in the first powerplay. The Sri Lankan spinners applied the brakes. Wellalage, the man who starred with the bat, struck twice in two overs to remove both the Indian openers. Washington Sundar, promoted to four, perished after hitting a boundary. The experienced duo of Kohli and Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship somewhat but Sri Lanka nipped them out in back-to-back overs.

21:59 Local Time, 16:29 GMT, 21:59 IST: What are the odds? Back-to-back tied games between these two teams. No Super Over today though. The Colombo crowd certainly enjoyed the finish, don't think India will be happy however. When Dube struck a boundary to level the scores, it was all smiles in the Indian camp, but they look shocked now. Asalanka and Co. have pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Another crazy game of cricket.

Asalanka to Arshdeep Singh, out Lbw!! Match tied! Arshdeep goes for the big slogsweep, misses and he's been adjudged lbw. He will review it. Non-turner on the stumps, clearly past the inside edge to rap him on the back leg adjacent to the stumps. Three reds on HawkEye as the ball crashes into the leg-stump. Asalanka and Sri Lanka have managed to sneak in a tie here. Arshdeep Singh lbw b Asalanka 0(1)

Asalanka to Arshdeep Singh, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Arshdeep Singh, left handed bat, comes to the crease

1 run | 1 wicket.

Asalanka to Shivam Dube, out Lbw!! Slides on with the arm Shivam Dube gets forward to block and the ball rolls past the keeper off the batter's pad. Not given onfield. The batters take the single but Sri Lanka review for lbw. UltraEdge confirms no inside edge. Over to ball-tracking and it's three reds! Excellent review. Shivam Dube lbw b Asalanka 25(24) [4s-1 6s-2]

Asalanka to Shivam Dube, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

DRS!

Asalanka to Shivam Dube, FOUR, scores level! Gambhir and Kohli applaud as they smile. Shortish ball and Shivam Dube pounces. Rocks back again and shovels it to the left of extra cover. No chance for long-off to cut it off as the ball bullets away

Asalanka to Shivam Dube, no run, 80kph, more air on this occasion, Shivam Dube slaps the cut off the back foot, finds extra cover

Asalanka to Shivam Dube, no run, 82kph, Dube stands tall on the back foot to punch this offbreak to extra cover

5 runs | 18 balls | 2 wickets.

Hasaranga to Siraj, no run, 85kph, full on leg, Siraj misses the flick and gets hit on the front leg. Optimistic appeal for lbw but that's sliding down leg. Hasaranga - 10-0-58-3!

Hasaranga to Siraj, 2 runs, 87kph, leggie with decent bounce, Siraj pushes off the back foot and the ball goes through point off the outside edge. Siraj calls for two and gets it easily