Champions Trophy: Sri Lanka beats India by 7 wickets

London: Sri Lanka staged a superb run chase to stun India and keep alive their Champions Trophy challenge as Kusal Mendis inspired a famous seven-wicket victory over the holders on Thursday.

Needing 322 to avoid a second successive Group B defeat, Sri Lanka powered to a memorable triumph at The Oval thanks to key contributions from Mendis (89), Danushka Gunathilaka (76) and captain Angelo Mathews (52).

Sri Lanka defied the odds to win with eight balls to spare and they can qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Pakistan in their final group match in Cardiff on June 12.

India’s remaining match against South Africa too turns into a virtual quarter-final after Sri Lanka pulled off their highest ever run chase.

It was a second-wicket partnership of 159 between Mendis and Gunathilaka that underpinned the Lankan effort, capped by a superb display by their captain, who hit the winning runs.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan led the India charge with a blistering 125 as the holders piled up 321/6.

After scoring 68 in India’s 124-run victory against Pakistan in their Group B opener, Dhawan overpowered the Sri Lanka attack with another swaggering display at The Oval.

The 31-year-old hit 15 fours and one six in his 128-ball innings, receiving strong support from fellow opener Rohit Sharma (78) and M.S. Dhoni (63).

India’s total was the highest of the tournament so far, surpassing the 319/3 they amassed against Pakistan. With plenty of cloud cover, Mathews opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Mathews must have wondered if that was such a wise move when Lasith Malinga served up a generous offering with the first ball, a short and wide delivery that Sharma caressed to the boundary.

Scoreboard
India: R. Sharma c Perera b Malinga 78, S. Dhawan c Mendis b Malinga 125, V. Kohli c Dickwella b Pradeep 0, Yuvraj Singh b Gunaratne 7, M.S. Dhoni c Chandimal b Perera 63, H. Pandya c Perera b Lakmal 9, K. Jadhav (not out) 25, R. Jadeja (not out) 0. Extras: (lb 4, w 10) 14. Total: (for 6 wkts, in 50 overs) 321.
FoW: 1-138, 2-139, 3-179, 4-261, 5-278, 6-307.
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-70-2 (1w), Lakmal 10-1-72-1 (3w), Pradeep 10-0-73-1 (2w), Perera 9-0-54-1, Gunathilaka 8-0-41-0, Gunaratne 3-0-7-1.

Sri Lanka: N. Dickwella c Jadeja b Kumar 7, M. Gunathilaka (run out) 76, B. Mendis (run out) 89, M. Perera (retired hurt) 47, A. Mathews (not out) 52, D. Gunaratne (not out) 34. Extras: (lb11, w5, nb1) 17. Total: (for 3 wkts, in 48.4 overs) 322.
FoW: 1-11, 2-170, 3-196
Bowling: Kumar 10-0-54-1 (1w), Yadav 9.4-0-67-0 (1w), Bumrah 10-0-52-0 (1nb), Pandya 7-1-51-0 (1w), Jadeja 6-0-52-0 (1w), Jadhav 3-0-18-0 (1w), Kohli 3-0-17-0.