ICC Champions Trophy: Match 8: Dhawan-Dhoni guide India to 321/6 against Sri Lanka

London, June 7: Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan's 125 powered defending champions India to 321/6 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in a Group B clash of the ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval here on Thursday (June 8).

Dhawan, who registered his 10th century in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, shared a partnership of 138 with fellow opener Rohit Sharma (78; 79b; 4x6, 6x3).

Dhawan also shared an 82-run stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (63 off 52) for the fourth wicket as India posted a highly-challenging total.

Pacer Lasith Malinga picked up 2/70 to be the best Sri Lankan bowler.

India are playing with same playing XI which played against Pakistan, that means R Ashwin would still have to wait to play his first game.

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews is back into the side after recovering from an injury. He would be eager to lead the team from the front and win the game.

Thisara Parera has replaced injured Kapugedara who sustained an injury while practicing.

However, the team will miss its regular opener Upul Tharanga who is facing two match suspension.

This is the 150th ODI between India and Sri Lanka, the most between any two sides. Pakistan and Sri Lanka come next with 147 games against each other.

After a near flawless demolition of Pakistan India will eye another dominant performance to seal a semifinal berth by



defeating Sr Lanka.

Having pulverised Pakistan by 124 runs, India will start as overwhelming favourites against Sri Lanka, who looked in total disarray during their 96-run defeat at the hands of South Africa.

But, Pakistan's thumping victory against South Africa last evening would have cautioned the Indian team from being complacent. Sri Lanka are a good side and are capable of challenging any team on any given day.

The only worry is the fickle London weather, with forecasts of 40 per cent chance of heavy rainfall. Contrasting performances aside, the sheer difference in quality also puts India a few notches ahead of the cricketers from the island nation.

On paper, the two sides are a total mismatch. While India ticked almost all the boxes in their victory against Pakistan, the Sri Lankans, in their opening fixture, looked as if they have only entered the tournament to add numbers.

Playing XIs:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella (wiketkeeper), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews (Captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep.