KOLKATA, November 13 2014:Â Sri Lanka collapsed yet again in the series chasing a steep target in a match with the highest individual score in ODI history. Rohit Sharma’s 264 took India to a huge 404/5 but Sri Lanka had to drop to the knees with Dhawal Kulkarni’s 4 for 34 in his 10 over and other bowler rubbing salt to the wound ending the second inning in just 43.1 overs with Sri Lanka 13 short of Sharma’s individual score.
Angelow Matthews and Lahiru Thirimanne tried to save the match after the Lankan Lions were down 48-4Â in the first 10 overs scoring a 75 and 59 runs becoming the only two batsmen scoring half centuries in the steep chase of 405 runs.
With this win, India goes 4-0 up in the series with 1 more game to go, where Sri Lanka will try to save their face while India will want the win to take the number 1 on the ODI Ranking.
Rohit Sharma should have been a happy man coming back after 10-weeks injury break and breaking few records in a single match at the best stadium in India, Eden Gardens. Rohit scored the highest Individual score in ODI Cricket, only man to score two double hundreds in ODI, first person to reach 250+ milestone in an ODI match.
The Sri Lankan Captain Angelo Mathews stated, “It is embarrassing that we are not even competing.”
The stand-in Indian Captain for the series, Virat Kohli said during the presentation, “I said in the press conference yesterday that once Rohit gets going he is very dangerous. Today is the kind of day I can tell my kids I was there. I don’t think this record is getting broken anytime soon. I was glad I was batting with him. There was a time when Rohit will admit runs were not coming easily, and I just asked him to take his time. Once he gets to 70-80, he is almost unstoppable. I am quite happy as of now as captain. I have had more wins than losses, but your character is tested only when the team is being tested. That time will come sooner than later. Your character is tested only in bad times. No we don’t want to let up. That’s what we are looking to develop as a team culture.”
“The fact that I went on to bat 50 overs was absolutely pleasing. I have been working on it. To bat as long as possible. Finally I managed that. That run-out of Virat was my mistake. Things like that happened, but not hard feelings there. It was a crucial partnership we were building, and to lose him then was quite frustrating. But I kept telling myself to keep on going. It’s going to be difficult to pick out one shot that stands out. I really cannot pick out one.” said Rohit Sharma, Man of The Match. Upon being asked about score in 300 in ODI, “I will try my best to get to 300, but as of now I will take 264. A lot of memories at Eden Gardens that will remain close to me. This one was really special.”
India and Sri Lanka will play the last match of this series on November 16th at Ranchi. The match will start from 13.45 NPT.
