IND won by 317 runs. Biggest wins (by margin of runs) in ODIs
Player of the match:
Virat Kohli
That brings down the curtains on our coverage of this series. There's plenty of international and franchise cricket coming your way in the coming week though, so don't you worry! We at Sportskeeda will be right here to bring you all the action, but for now, this is Pratyush, signing off on behalf of my partner, Bala. Happy festivities to those celebrating! Goodnight.
Rohit Sharma collects the trophy as India complete a clean sweep in this ODI series to send Sri Lanka packing empty-handed. The team poses for the cameras with the trophy being handed to Siraj. It wasn't always easy for India throughout the series with the visitors having their moments and showing some glimpses but it was the hosts who came out on top. The focus for Rohit Sharma's men quickly shifts to the next series against New Zealand, which will begin in a couple of days' time.
Rohit Sharma (Captain, India): I thought it was a great series. Lots of positives for us. Bowled well, got the breakthroughs when we required. the batsmen piled on the runs. (On four slips and a leg gully) Don't remember that, must have been long, long time ago. The way he (Mohammed Siraj) was bowling, he deserved the slips. The way he was swinging the ball, it's a rare talent. In the last couple of years, we have seen him grow from strength to strength. For someone like Siraj to put his hand up, deliver and grow, it's a huge positive for India. It tried all sorts of things (to help Siraj get his fifth wicket), but it didn't work out. But we don't want to take any credit away. The five wicket will come, He has a few tricks up his sleeve for the middle overs as well. Finally we can see the rewards coming through. Honestly, not given too much of a thought about it (New Zealand series). We'll get to the drawing board quickly and see how the pitch is. There will be change in combination that we saw today. They are coming off a victory in Pakistan, so it won't be easy for us.
Virat Kohli is not only the Player of the Match, but also the Player of the Series. Here's what the man of the moment has to say: (Accolades) For me, it's just a byproduct of the intent I have. The mindset is always to help the team and bat for as long as possible, put the team in strong positions, and eventually when you play with the situation and demands of the game, then you end up making the difference. That's obviously been the case with me. I've always played for the right reasons, helped the team as much as possible and then eventually, ended up being the difference a lot of the times. It's just the intent and playing for the right reasons. Ever since I took a long break, I've been feeling good about my game. I don't have that desperation anymore to get to a milestone. For me, it's just about enjoying my batting and helping the team as much as I can. I'm really happy doing to that and just want to continue being in this space where I'm relaxed and content. Today also, I was happy to be in the space which allows me to play my best cricket. Not be in a space when I got desperate and things were running away from me. So, it's just about being organic every day and just following the feeling every day. (Bowlers) It's outstanding. Shami has been excellent for a while and the way Siraj is bowling is outstanding.
He's got the most number of wickets in the Powerplay and that's been an issue for us in the past. He has come in and rectified that. You can see that in his body language. He wants to come in and get the breakthrough, which is a great sign for us into a World Cup here. If he can keep it going for us along with Shami and Bumrah coming back as well, it's a great fast bowling unit.
Dasun Shanaka (captain, Sri Lanka): It's disappointing. It's not the game we wanted. It happens at times, but we have to learn to manage the start. (On what went wrong) Probably the bowling and the batting both. The bowlers need to learn to pick wickets on these tracks and the batters need to learn to score runs. Playing positive cricket is most important. (The) Intent was not there from the start. If there was intent, the bowling would have been different. I would like to congratulate the Indian team for their performance.
Biggest wins (by margin of runs) in ODIs
317 runs - India vs Sri Lanka, 2023
290 runs - New Zealand vs Ireland, 2008
275 runs - Australia vs Afghanistan, 2015
272 runs - South Africa vs Zimbabwe, 2010
Sri Lanka's lowest totals in ODIs
43 vs South Africa (Paarl, 2012)
55 vs West Indies (Sharjah, 1986)
67 vs England (Manchester, 2014)
73 vs India (Thruvananthapuram, 2023)*
78 vs Pakistan (Sharjah, 2002)
Here's Mohammed Siraj, the man of the moment: "It would have been my first five-wicket haul. It tried hard, but it was just not meant to be. We are destined to get whatever is written in the fortunes. My rhythm has been good for some time. The outswinger is coming out well. But the scrambled seam is the real wicket-taking ball. The batters have the outswinger in mind and I slip in the scrambled seam delivery. Out captain put in efforts (by bowling Shreyas Iyer at the other end), but it didn't happen. It is good to take four wickets on this track."
India won by 317 runs!
Virat Kohli - 166* (110) | Mohammed Siraj - 4/32
Nuwanidu Fernando - 19 (27) | Kasun Rajitha - 81/2
At the start of the game during the toss, Rohit Sharma mentioned that the aim for this side is to have a near-perfect game. Well, it doesn't get better than this in that regard. India were flawless and near perfect in all three departments in this contest and the result is merely a reflection of that.
It all started off with the captain leading from the front alongside his opening partner to set the platform for the side. While Rohit missed out on his half-century, Gill and Kohli made sure they don't make the same mistake. The 131-run stand between the two saw Gill register his 2nd ODI century as they piled on the misery on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The youngster couldn't go on to convert that into a daddy ton but his experienced partner at the other end sure did. Virat Kohli registered his 74th international century and made sure he goes on to convert that into a monster one. He dominated the century stand alongside Shreyas and batted through till the end to put on a daunting total on the board for Sri Lanka.
In reply, the visitors looked rather toothless. Mohammed Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief to dismantle the Sri Lankan top order along with decent support from Shami and Kuldeep. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar didn't even get a chance to roll their arm over but Shreyas Iyer did, as India did their best to try and ensure Siraj gets his fifer.
That wasn't meant to be eventually though. Sri Lanka won't want to look back at this batting performance fondly at all. Only three batters scored runs in double digits in a sorry-looking scorecard. That gives India the record for the biggest margin of victory in ODI cricket. It'll be contrasting emotions for the two captains, and we'll hear from them at the presentation.
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