Live Cricket Score of India vs Sri Lanka, 5th ODI at Ranchi

Mathews and Thirimanne tried to build a partnership to steady Sri Lanka. The spinners, who were getting a lot of help from the pitch, were testing the Lankan 5th wicket pair but Mathews and Thirimanne were up for the fight, although the scoring rate was not all that great. There were quite a few dot deliveries and runs mostly came in singles and twos while the pair scored a few boundaries too, although not a lot. With a four through the mid-wicket region off Karn Sharma in the 33rd over, the Lankan skipper brought up the half-century stand.

India have never completed a clean sweep over Sri Lanka in a 5-match ODI series. Virat Kohli's men will be eager to re-write history. The tourists have only pride to play for and will be keen to aovid embarassment with just a few months to go for the World Cup. A whitewash could act do more mental damage to Mathews' men and they will be looking for a win to lift their spirits.

A few changes are in the reckoning given that the match is a dead rubber. Suresh Raina has been rested by India to give a chance for the other members in the squad.

Sri Lanka too are likely to make some changes up the order to try and get the right combination going.

Angelo Mathews called right and chose to bat. Kedar Jadhav was handed his maiden ODI cap and he came in to replace Raina. R Ashwin too found his way back into the playing eleven for India. For Sri Lanka, Niroshan Dickwella was included.

Sri Lanka were given a superb start by Tillakaratne Dilshan but India maintained the balance with quick strikes. Dhawal Kulkarni had Dickwella flicking in the air and Rayudu completed a good catch at square leg.

Stuart Binny then struck the bigger blow when Dilshan played all over an off-cutter and missed. The ball grazed his pad before hitting the stumps. His 24-ball 35 ensured Sri Lanka had some momentum but India had pulled things back by getting rid of both the openers.

Dinesh Chandimal was struggling to get going before his outing came to an end in the 15th over, when he fell to Axar Patel. The wicket-keeper batsman tried to play a slog sweep to a delivery that turned away sharply. All Chandimal could do was get a top edge and Rohit Sharma, who moved back from his his position at mid-on, took a safe catch to send the batsman back on 5 off 31.

R Ashwin delivered the big breakthrough, dismissing Mahela Jayawardene in the 19th over. The veteran batsman, who was trying to steady the ship, tried to play a late cut but the ball turned sharply after hitting a crack on the pitch and struck the pad first before clipping the top of the bat to the hands of Ajinkya Rahane at first slip. Mahela departed on 32 off 33, leaving Sri Lanka at 85/4.

India had the chance of sending back Lahiru Thirimanne early as the left-hander edged an Axar Patel delivery to first slip in the 24th over. However, Rahane, who attempted to grab the ball with one hand while putting in the dive, could not hold on to it. This was after Angelo Mathews had taken a single off the first ball of the over, which took Sri Lanka to the 100-run mark.

Before this game, Sri Lanka's scores in the Batting PP were: 1st ODI - 19/3, 2nd ODI - 30/3. 3rd ODI - 16/3, 4th ODI - 30/4. Sri Lanka could manage only 4 runs in the first over of the batting powerplay, which was bowled by Binny. In the next over, Uthappa put down a tough chance, giving Thirimanne another reprieve and there was a close shout for leg-before as well, but it was not given. The left-arm spinner, meanwhile, conceded just one run while Ashwin, who bowled the 38th over, also kept things tight as he gave away only 6 runs. Axar bowled another tight over, conceding only 4 off the penultimate Batting PP over. In the 40th over, Mathews started off with a big six over extra-cover to go past fifty in style. Karn, who bowled that over, gave away 11 runs as Sri Lanka moved to 172/4 after 40. The visitors, for the first time in this series, did not lose any wicket in the Batting PP, although they scored only 26 runs.

Mathews took the attack to Ambati Rayudu in the 41st over, hitting him for a four and two sixes off consecutive deliveries to bring up the 100-run stand. In the next over, Thirimanne scored a six off Ashwin to help Sri Lanka past the 200-run mark. Mathews took a single off Karn in the 44th over to reach 1000 runs in ODIs this year, becoming the first player to do so. In the same over, Thirimanne also scored a single to bring up his 9th ODI fifty.

Thirimanne fell to Ashwin in the 45th over, giving the off-spinner his second wicket. The left-hander came down the track and tried to go for a big hit. However, he mistimed the ball and holed out to Rayudu at long on to depart on 52 off 76. This was the sixth time Thirimanne was dismissed by Ashwin.

Karn finished with expensive figures of 0/61 as Mathews took the attack to him in the 46th over, hitting him for two sixes and a four off consecutive deliveries. The Lankan skipper, who moved to 96 at the end of the over, registered his highest ODI score. In the following over, Thisara Perera started off with a four off Dhawal Kulkarni and took a single to give Mathews strike. The Lankan skipper took a couple to move to 98 before taking two more to register his maiden ODI ton, which came in his 138th ODI. Mathews ended the over with a four and a single, taking Sri Lanka to 245/5 after 47.

Mathews hit back-to-back sixes off Axar in the 48th over before Perera fell to the left-arm spinner, hitting a full-toss straight to the hands of Jadhav at deep backward square-leg. The umpires checked if it was above the waist before sending the batsman back. Mathews ended the over with another six and Axar, who conceded 19 runs off his final over, finished with figures of 2/45.

The big hitting continued and this time it was Ashwin who came under attack as Mathews hit him for back-to-back sixes after Sri Lanka got fours runs via byes in the penultimate over. Dhawal, who bowled the final over, conceded a couple of wides before dismissing Seekkuge Prasanna off the third delivery - a top edge that travelled to the hands of Axar at deep backward square-leg. Karn then took a good one-handed catch, running from mid-off to send back Ajantha Mendis. Only 4 runs came off that over as Sri Lanka finished with 286/8 with Mathews unbeaten on 139. Dhawal finished with 3/57.

Sri Lanka finally managed to do well with the bat in this series. Their conservative approach in the batting powerplay paid off as Mathews provided a fine finish to the innings. Earlier though, It was not easy going for the visitors. They were 85/4 at one stage, but skipper Mathews and Thirimanne combined well to stitch together a 128-run stand for the fifth wicket. India were put under serious pressure when Mathews went berserk. He helped Sri Lanka score 73 runs in the last 5 overs with 60 coming off his bat. The pitch aided the slower bowlers and it turned square for the spinners at times. One end was quite dusty and all the spinners beat the bat quite regularly. However, Mathews hung around and fought hard to keep all the bowlers at bay before recording his maiden ODI hundred in his 116th innings. Akshar was the pick of the Indian bowlers while Kulkarni bagged three wickets.

Mathews was having a good time in this match and it continued as he got rid of Ajinkya Rahane early. It was a short of a length delivery that kept low and Rahane, who missed the ball completely, saw it crash on to the stumps to depart on 2 in the 3rd over.

The in-form Rohit Sharma was the next to depart, giving Mathews his second wicket. The double centurion from the last game tried to pull a short of length delivery but missed it and was bowled. He departed on 9, leaving India at 14/2.

With two quick wickets going down, the onus was on Rayudu and Virat Kohli to build a partnership and steady India. The 3rd wicket pair were a bit watchful to start with but they started playing attractive shots once they got their eye in. Mathews conceded three fours in the 11th over in in the next over, the 3rd wicket pair helped India past the 50-run mark. The half-century stand was raised in the 14th over when Kohli hot a boundary off Perera.

Kohli and Rayudu were finding the boundaries at a regular rate and the former reached his 34th ODI fifty with a four off Mendis in the 19th over. In the next over, he scored a couple off Dilshan to help India past 100. A boundary for Rayudu off Prasanna in the 23rd over extended the partnership past 100.

The bowlers were experiencing problems with the ball as the dew had set in. Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu helped himself to a half-century by guiding a Gamage delivery past the keeper for a boundary in the 26th over. With a couple off Eranga in the 28th over, Kohli helped India to 150.

A big mix-up in the 28th over resulted in the run-out of Rayudu (59 off 69), ending a partnership worth 138 runs. Kohli mistimed a dab and the ball rolled towards the second slip position. Rayudu thought he could steal a quick run, but Kohli, who was ball-watching, never responded. Chandimal dived to his right to grab the ball and threw it to the bowler, who hit the stumps to see Rayudu short at the non-striker's end.

Robin Uthappa, who was the next man in, got going with a couple of cheeky boundaries behind the keeper. Meanwhile, Kohli became the second player to reach 1000 ODI runs in 2014 when he took a single off Perera in the 32nd over. The Indian skipper also became only the second player, after Sourav Ganguly, to score 1000+ ODI runs in four consecutive years.

In the 34th over, India suffered a setback as Uthappa fell to Mendis on 19. it was a flighted delivery on the leg stump and Uthappa, who couldn't control the flick, hit the ball in the air towards short mid-wicket, where Mathews dived to his right to take a good low catch.

Debutant Jadhav took little time to get going as he dealt in regular boundaries and assisted Kohli in building a partnership to take India closer to the target. However, the 29-year-old right-hander left India in a spot of bother as he was bowled by Mendis in the 40th over while attempting a crude hoick across the line. India, who scored 28 runs in the Batting PP, moved to 216/5 after 40.

With a single off Eranga in the 43rd over, Kohli registered his 21st ton in ODI cricket. With this century Kohli joined Herschelle Gibbs and Chris Gayle on the list of top century-makers in ODIs, jointly occupying the fifth spot. Soon after that, Mendis dismissed Stuart Binny and R Ashwin off consecutive deliveries in the 44th over to leave India in a lot of trouble. Binny was out stumped after attempting a rash shot while Ashwin was trapped in front.

Prasanna, who bowled the 45th over, conceded 7 runs, which included a boundary for Axar. In the same over, there was a close shout for leg-before, which was not given, giving Axar an extended stay. India were 240/7 after 45 overs, needing 47 more off 30 deliveries. In the next over, Kohli eased some of the pressure by coming down the track and hitting Mendis for a maximum over cover before hitting one straight through the bowler's legs for a four. Mendis gave away 13, bringing the equation down to 34 off 24.

Shaminda Eranga, who missed a caught and bowled in the 47th over, gave Axar a lucky break. In the same over, Axar and Kohli managed a boundary each and the over yielded 13 runs bringing it down to 21 off 118. The Lankan skipper, who bowled the 48th over, gave away 8 runs. Kohli or Axar did not manage any boundary in that over, but they ran well between wickets, to bring the equation down to 13 off 12.

Kohli welcomed Mendis with a huge six over long-on in the penultimate over to bring the required runs to single digits. it was a mini-helicopter shot and Kohli even rehearsed the Dhoni-esque whiplash after hitting the six. He finished things off in style by coming down the track and hitting it a long way past the long-on ropes, helping India complete the 5-0 whitewash.