Cuttack cuts Sri Lanka down to size – visitors beaten by Virat Kohli & Co

It was a literal run feast in the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as India beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 169 runs to take a lead in the 5-match ODI series timesofindia.indiatimes.com. With the Indian openers scoring centuries each and with Ishaant Sharma’s haul of four wickets, the visitors had no answer to the Indians. They could not bat beyond 40 overs and were all out for 194 runs.
The Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane scored 113 and 111 runs respectively and set up 231 runs for the first wicket stand which helped the remaining batsmen to pile up the miseries on the Sri Lankans.
Moreover, the pace bowlers ensured that the advantage was never frittered away and captain Virat Kohli was a happy captain.
The sudden void created by the West Indies pulling out of their scheduled tour of India due to a dispute with their Cricket Board, Sri Lanka seized the opportunity given by the BCCI to get some much needed match practice before the 2015 Cricket World Cup. They also had to groom new players because some of the Sri Lankans stalwarts were aging and replacements were necessary – such newcomers needed to acclimatize with cricket on the international arena. And – what better to do so other than playing with their neighbors who are loaded with talent.
This sudden change of itinerary helped M S Dhoni to get some rest and also allowed Virat Kohli to step out in the role of the captain for the first three ODIs.