Kohli leads the way as India seal series

Touring captain Dhoni pleased after win over Sri Lanka.

COLOMBO: India captain MS Dhoni could not stop praising Virat Kohli after India’s latest batting sensation cracked a century and part-timer Manoj Tiwary bagged four wickets to help India post a comfortable six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the fourth One-Day International on Tuesday.

Kohli, who also scored a hundred in the opening game, made a 119-ball 128 not out as India surpassed Sri Lanka’s total of 251 for eight with more than seven overs to spare for an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Tiwary earlier played a key role in restricting Sri Lanka in the day-night match in Colombo, taking four wickets with his leg-spin in his first game of the series.

“Kohli has improved a lot and once he gets set, he’s someone who doesn’t like to throw away his wicket,” said Dhoni. “The part-timers bowled really well and they bowled to their field. We requested Tiwary to bowl a lot in the net sessions.”

India were under pressure at 109 for four before Kohli and Suresh Raina (58*) added 146 runs to steer their team home.

Raina, dropped on 19 by Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene in the slips off debutant paceman Nuwan Pradeep, hit one six and four boundaries in his 51-ball knock.

“We didn’t bat well and were 30-40 runs short,” said Jayawardene. “To control that line-up you need to pick up wickets and that’s where we lacked in the last few games. Dropping catches doesn’t help.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2012.