Match no. 44, India vs Sri Lanka played at Headingley, Leeds. India didn’t quite get to test their middle order one last time before the semi-final.

But Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul put up India’s fourth century for the opening stand in the tournament, made centuries of their own.

Earlier, Sri Lanka ended their innings at 264/7 in 50 overs. Angelo Mathews slammed his third ODI century to propel them to this score after a poor start that saw them lose four wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah was once again the top bowler for India as he finished with figures of 3/37.

This after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in their last match of the tournament.

The openers put on 189 of the 265 India were set, unleashing strokes that ranged from pristine to borderline outrageous.

They were able to recreate a pace that resembled that of India’s regular opening pair, and it came about because of Rohit’s uncharacteristic early aggression.

Earlier, Riding high on Angelo Mathews’ fighting century Sri Lanka set a target of 265.

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 Jadeja (1/40 in 10 overs) and Hardik Pandya (1/50 in 10 overs) gave good support.

Rohit Sharma Set A New Record

Rohit Sharma has become the first-ever cricketer to score 5 centuries in a World Cup.

India’s victory is largely credited to Indian openers-Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who delivered wonderfully for India today.

Sharma and Rahul set up an 189-run partnership. While Rohit became the only cricketer to make five centuries in a World Cup.

KL Rahul made his first World Cup century today to delight of Indian fans. Sri Lanka had ended first innings by posting a total of 264/5 in 50 overs.

Angelo Mathews powered Sri Lanka to the total, backed with his magnificent century after four wickets fell down early.

Mathews fell to Bumrah in the second last over for 113 runs. Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first.

India introduced two changes in this match, rested Chahal and Shami and brought in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.

With the win, India will now hope for South Africa to beat Australia to finish at the top of the world cup points table.

HIGHLIGHTS : India / Sri Lanka

• KL Rahul (111) and Rohit Sharma (103) helped India end their league campaign with a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.
• Rohit became first batsman to hit five hundreds in a World Cup.
• Angelo Mathews (113) and Lahiru Thirimanne (53) guided Sri Lanka to 264/7.
• Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first.

Captains Corner

Virat Kohli

We wanted to play good cricket but didn’t expect 7-1 (results). It’s a real honour to play together for India.

More or less everything is set for the semis, but we don’t want to be one-dimensional. We have to turn up on the day and put in another performance.

For us the opposition never matters, if we don’t play well anyone can beat us, if we play well we can beat anyone.

Dimuth Karunaratne

We ended up with close to 280 which was a good score. We kept losing wickets, and didn’t capitalise on a good start, we had to rebuild which is why we got 260. But Rohit and Rahul batted really well.

We have to think about what we got wrong, talk to the selectors and high-performance centre to identify some new talents. Four years is a long time [until the next World Cup]

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