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When Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj Helped India Crush Sri Lanka By Record ODI Margin

image-lrep8yf2Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli both made centuries in the game (BCCI)

Team India, off the back of twin tons from Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill and a sizzling four-fer from Mohammed Siraj committed a 317-run larruping over Sri Lanka during one of their ODI meetings from January 2023.

The margin of victory continues to remain ODI cricket’s largest in terms of runs, as they bettered the one-sided affair between New Zealand and Ireland from 2008.

When India registered ODI cricket’s biggest win

Sri Lanka toured India in January 2023 for a set of three T20Is and three ODI matches. After losing the T20I series 1-2, the visitors also lost the first two ODIs in Guwahati and Kolkata with convincing margins.

Both teams subsequently travelled to Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium for the dead-rubber third ODI match on January 15, where Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first.

Sharma listed a tactical 42 in his 95-run opening partnership with Shubman Gill, and his dismissal at the hands of Chamika Karunaratne paved way for number three Virat Kohli into the crease. From there on, Gill and Kohli blazed their way to chanceless hundreds and shared a 131-run partnership together for the second wicket.

Gill made 116 runs from just 97 balls with 14 boundaries and two sixes, while Kohli blasted an unbeaten 166 from 110 balls to notch up his 46th ODI century. Valiant contribution in the backend from Shreyas Iyer eventually raged Team India to a colossal 390-5 from 50 overs upfront.

Sri Lankan top-order, in response, was blown away by Mohammed Siraj as the Indian speedster accounted for four of the first five wickets on offer in the innings. His new-ball pace mater Mohammed Shami snared two of his own, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav claimed the key wickets of captain Dasun Shanaka and tailender Lahiru Kumara.

Sri Lanka folded up for just 73 in 22 overs to concede the match by 317 runs, and the series by a 0-3 margin.

India’s one-sided victory over Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram marked the first instance of an ODI team losing a game by more than 300 runs, and it continues to remain the largest margin of defeat for any side in 50-overs international history.