World Cup 2019, India vs Sri Lanka Highlights: Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul produced brilliant centuries to pummel Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the last match of their league stage of World Cup 2019. KL Rahul (111 off 118 balls) and Rohit Sharma (103 off 94 balls) established yet another 100-run opening partnership while chasing a modest target of 265 set by Sri Lanka at Headingley.
Rohit Sharma became the first batsman to score 5 centuries in a World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara held the record for four centuries prior to the Indian vice-captain. He also surpassed Shakib Al Hasan to become the leading run scorer in ICC World Cup 2019. Indian team management will be hoping that both openers continue their form into the semi-final also.
Earlier, Riding high on Angelo Mathews’ fighting century Sri Lanka set a target of 265 for India after captain Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and opted to bat first at Headingley. Mathews scored his first century (113 off 128 balls) of the tournament and made sure Sri Lanka reach a fighting total against India. For India, Jasprit Bumrah (3/37 in 10 overs) was the pick of the bowlers, while Ravindra Jadeja (1/40 in 10 overs) and Hardik Pandya (1/50 in 10 overs) gave good support.
Lasith Malinga had a forgettable outing in the final World Cup match of his career but his contribution to Sri Lankan cricket will never be forgotten.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, B Kumar, K Yadav, J Bumrah.
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, WIA Fernando, BKG Mendis, Angelo Mathews, L Thirimanne, D de Silva, NTLC Perera, I Udana, L Malinga, K Rajitha.
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Highlights
Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya help India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets.
Malinga ends his spell 83 runs in his final world cup match with a wicket of KL Rahul.
Rishabh Pant dismissed for 4. Hardik Pandya walks out to bat as India look to end the match.
Ian Gould is umprirng in his final match. He will retire after this game.
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant should be able to take India across the finish line against Sri Lanka. Kohli has been in good form once again as India gear up for the semifinal.
Lasith Malinga takes his first wicket of the match as Rahul goes back to the pavilion after scoring a wonderful century for India.
KL Rahul has batted beautifully to get his first century at a crucial stage in the tournament. Rahul has been outstanding in the match as he played with patience and made sure he did not play any rash shots throughout his innings. Virat Kohli and his team will be proud of Rahul and will hope he can bat like this in the semifinal as well.
Indian opening batsman KL Rahul has batted really well once again and deserves to score a hundred today. Rahul should make sure he takes the team home today which will help his confidence just before the important semi-final.
Indian fans will be backing South Africa to beat Australia as that will help India reach the top of the points table. The first semi-final will take place on 9th July at Manchester. India has won both the matches that they have played at Old Trafford.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has walked out to bat as India look to win this game.
Rohit Sharma becomes the first batsman to score 5 hundreds in a World Cup. This man has been at his best and Indian team will be loving this from the Hit-man. Fans all across the country will be hoping Sharma can score big in the semifinals as well.
Timed to perfection through covers as Rohit Sharma moves towards his fifth hundred.
KL Rahul smashed the slower ball for a boundary over the long on as he moves into the seventies.
South African captain Faf Du Plessis scored his first century of the tournament before being dismissed by Behrendorff.
Rohit is at his best as he moves closer to his 5th hundred in the World Cup for India.
On a track that was supposed to be slow in the second half of the innings, Sri Lankan bowlers have failed to exploit the surface. The captaincy from Karunaratne has also been questionable as Sri Lanka has not used spinners on this track.
Back to back fifties for KL Rahul as India look to be in total control at the moment. Can Rahul score a hundred today?
India are batting really well and it looks like they have a chance to win this match. In the other match where South Africa is facing Australia, the Proteas are in a commanding position with skipper Faf scoring his first hundred of the World Cup. If Australia is defeated by South Africa then India will face New Zealand in the semi-final on 9th July.
The Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma is now the only player behind Sachin Tendulkar to score 600 plus runs in a World Cup for India. Sharma has been in top form throughout the World Cup and has managed to perform for India regularly.
Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma surpassed Shakib Al Hasan to become the leading run scorer in ICC World Cup 2019. Sharma has the chance to score his fifth century of the tournament and with that, he can also become the only batsman in the world to have 5 centuries in a single World Cup.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have batted well once again providing the team with a solid start which has set up the platform for the run chase.
KL Rahul has batted well with Rohit Sharma as he moves closer to his half-century. Rahul should look to bat through the innings as it will give him and the Indian team a lot of confidence going into the semi-final of the World Cup.
Rohit Sharma smashes fifty with a SIX over mid off. He has been in fine form during this World Cup and has smashed two back to back sixes to derail the Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Rohit Sharma has been batting beautifully once again and is getting good support from the other end. He has been batting well and Sri Lankan bowlers are looking clueless against the Indian batsmen.
Rohit Sharma is batting beautifully at the moment. He timed the ball to perfection for another boundary as India look in total control at the moment.
MS Dhoni can be promoted up the order as he can bat with the top order and can take his time to get his eye in. This will be good for the team as well as Dhoni as it will give him confidence going into the semi-final of the World Cup. It will interesting to see who India faces in the semi-final.
India has reached the fifty mark as KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have batted really well. Both are looking confident and India will hope that they can carry on like this till the very end.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will have to be dismissed early if Sri Lanka wants to put pressure on India. It will be interesting to see if Karunaratne gives the ball to spinner as the only time Rohit Sharma got out for a duck was against Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Teams have not tried that since India's game against Afghanistan.
Rohit Sharma has hit two consecutive boundaries of Lasith Malinga as India are off to a solid start.
Lasith Malinga will be the key for Sri Lanka as they will need quick wickets if they want to put pressure on the Indian team. Rahul and Rohit have been dealing in boundaries at the moment which is not something Sri Lanka will want.
KL Rahul smashes another boundary. These are good signs for the Indian team.
KL Rahul smashes his first boundary of the match as India look to put pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Rohit Sharma smashes the first boundary of the match for India.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will have to bat really well if India wants to win this match. On the other hand, Malinga will be the key for Sri Lanka.
A good final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped India restrict Sri Lanka for 265. It looked like Sri Lanka would have reached the 280 run mark if Angelo Mathews had batted till the last ball of the Sri Lankan innings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets his first wicket of the match as Hardik Pandya takes a blinder to help India get rid off Thisara Perera.
Indian team management will have to rethink their strategy before the semi-final. Kumar has been in top form but today has not been the best day for him.