India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: Five talking points

Kohli's new batting slot, Umesh's pace, Mahela's milestone and more...

Umesh Yadav was impressive with the ball and recorded his best figures in ODIs (Source: PTI)

India register an emphatic win to seal the third ODI and take an unassailable 3-0 lead. We take a look at the five talking points from India’s six-wicket win…

Umesh Yadav: There was a sense of déjà vu as Yadav started the day’s proceedings, his first victim- Kusal Perera who couldn’t handle the sharp bounce. Second- The great Kumar Sangakkara was forced to push at an unplayable delivery only to hand Ashwin an easy catch at the slip. Yadav surprised the big hitting Thisara with a well diguised slower ball and got a low full toss to crash into Prasanna’s stumps. The Vidarbha pacer’s 4- 53 are his best ODI figures till date.

The stylish right hander brought up 12000 OSI runs in the Hyderabad game. (Source: PTI)

Mahela Jayawardene: As Sri Lanka imploded, Jayawardena stood firm. In an utter contrast to the run of play, he looked comfortable and composed. Jayawardene made the most of a missed run-out chance and brought up his 17th ODI ton and also reached 12,000 runs in the process. Unfortunately, he was stumped off R Ashwin trying to step out to the off spinner.

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Live Cricket Score, India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI: India aim to wrap up series against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad. (Source: PTI)

Big shots, quick singles, cuts, pulls and the reverse sweep he had them all. (Source: PTI)

Shikhar Dhwan’s: run fest continued at Hyderabad too. He became the fastest Indian to reach 2,000 runs in ODIs (48 innings.) Dhawan looked his attacking self right from the word go and punished the bad deliveries early on in the chase. However, soon after Rahane returned back to the pavilion, Dhawan dropped the anchor. He rotated the stirke well and forged important partnerships with Rayudu and Kohli.One could say he was a victim of poor umpiring, when the swashbuckling Delhi lad was out for 91.

Just didn’t look in the frame of things at his home ground. (Source: PTI)

Ambati Rayudu’s struggle: He played a splendid knock in Ahmedabad, but failed to replicate it on his home ground. Rayudu’s technical frailties against the short ball were exposed. His back-foot movement was tentative and appeared out of sync. He managed to survive the tumultuous period but eventually ran himself out after a grave misjudgement.

Virat Kohli blows a kiss after completing 6000 ODI runs (Source: PTI)

Kohli the new number 4: 102 runs in the last two innings at an average of 51. What a start to Kohli’s stint as India’s new No.4. With Rayudu embracing the one-down position, Kohli is making batting look so easy at the crucial middle-order slot, where he has moulded himself into a finisher (looking at last two games). No.4 is an important position looking at its dual responsibilities- in an early collapse or after a wham-bam start. Considered to be India’s best man at the job and tipped as the future captain, he is only making his case stronger.

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