India beat Sri Lanka in series decider

Visakhapatnam, Dec 17 (CRICKETNMORE) - India eased to an eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the decisive third and final One-Day International (ODI) here on Sunday. After restricting Sri Lanka to 215 runs, Shikhar Dhawan's 100 not out helped India

Asked to bat first by the hosts, most of the Sri Lankan batsmen virtually gifted away their wickets with some poor stroke making as their hopes of recording a first bilateral series win in India took a big hit.

The visitors suffered an early blow when opener Danushka Gunathilaka was caught at mid-on by Rohit Sharma in the fourth over while trying to go after Jasprit Bumrah.

However, the visitors staged a strong comeback with Upul Tharanga and Sadeera Samarawickrama adding 121 runs between them.

The two of them batted comfortably to set Sri Lanka up for a big total. Tharanga took a particular liking to Hardik Pandya, smashing the pacer for five consecutive boundaries in the ninth over.

But just when it seemed that the duo might help the visitors run away with the game, Yuzvendra Chahal removed Samarawickrama to give India a much needed breakthrough.