India vs. Sri Lanka, 5th ODI, 2014: Highlights, Scorecard and Report

India made it a clean sweep against Sri Lanka, winning a thrilling final match of the one-day international series by three wickets to complete a 5-0 whitewash.    

The tourists put in one of their best batting efforts of the series in the first innings, with skipper Angelo Mathews hitting a stunning 139 not out—a knock that included 10 sixes—to help Sri Lanka to 286/8. But an equally impressive century from his opposite number Virat Kohli saw India knock off the runs required with just three wickets and eight balls to spare.

Here’s a look at the scorecard for the fifth match of what was an engrossing series and a rundown of how the action played out in the fifth ODI:

Sri Lanka Innings: 286/8 (50 overs)
India Innings: 288/7 (48.4 overs)
Batsman	Dismissal	Runs	Balls
N Dickwella	c Rayudu b Kulkarni	4	10
TM Dilshan	b Binny	35	24
LD Chandimal†	c RG Sharma b Patel	5	31
DPMD Jayawardene	c Rahane b Ashwin	32	33
AD Mathews*	not out	139	116
HDRL Thirimanne	c Rayudu b Ashwin	52	76
NLTC Perera	c Jadhav b Patel	6	5
S Prasanna	c Patel b Kulkarni	0	4
BAW Mendis	c KV Sharma b Kulkarni	0	1
Extras	(b 4, lb 2, w 7)	13
Total	(8 wickets; 50 overs)	286
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
DS Kulkarni	8	0	57	3
STR Binny	8	1	28	1
AR Patel	10	0	45	2
R Ashwin	10	1	56	2
KV Sharma	10	0	61	0
AT Rayudu	4	0	33	0
Batsman	Dismissal	Runs	Balls
AM Rahane	b Mathews	2	10
RG Sharma	b Mathews	9	12
AT Rayudu	run out (†Chandimal/Eranga)	59	69
V Kohli*	not out	139	126
RV Uthappa†	c Mathews b Mendis	19	21
KM Jadhav	b Mendis	20	24
STR Binny	st †Chandimal b Mendis	12	15
R Ashwin	lbw b Mendis	0	1
AR Patel	not out	17	14
Extras	(b 4, w 7)	11
Total	(7 wickets; 48.4 overs)	288
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
AD Mathews	7	1	33	2
PLS Gamage	4	0	25	0
RMS Eranga	7	0	45	0
S Prasanna	10	0	42	0
NLTC Perera	3	0	20	0
BAW Mendis	9.4	0	73	4
TM Dilshan	8	0	46	0

Ahead of this one, former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist talked up the Indian skipper, claiming that Kohli has the talent to become the best player in world cricket, per the Herald Sun, via ibnlive.in.com:

"

He may well thrive with this opportunity, is a big game player, so I think he will really enjoy taking on that responsibility. 

He has some learning that he will need to overcome away from India, but I believe he can do it and has the game and hunger to do it

Virat has the capability of being the best player in the world.

"

Paul Kane/Getty Images

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to have a bat, but as has been the case throughout this series, early wickets sapped their impetus. By the time Mathews strode out to the crease in the 15th over, his side had a major rebuilding job on their hands with the score 73-3. 

Things got worse when Mahela Jayawardene—a player who has been in decent form despite the Sri Lankan plight—fell in the 19th over and India looked as though they were set for another comfortable win. But Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne put on a magnificent stand to help haul Sri Lanka back into contention. 

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The latter of the pair played astutely and sensibly, eventually departing for a dogged 52, but it was the tourists’ skipper who stole the show. His innings possessed a plethora of scintillating shots, as he tucked into the Indian bowling attack on the way to his maiden ODI century. Former Sri Lanka player Russel Arnold paid tribute to his nation’s skipper:

It was the latter part of his innings that was particularly impressive. A late surge from Mathews pushed Sri Lanka to a very respectable total of 286/8 as wickets tumbled around him, and ESPN Cricinfo noted just how much he upped the intensity in the final knockings of his 139, which eventually came from just 116 balls:

The momentum was with the visitors going into the second innings, and with Mathews leading the charge again, they got off to the best possible start. The Sri Lanka captain clean-bowled both Indian openers inside the first five overs, and with the hosts reeling on 14-2, there was a big opportunity for Mathews' team to notch their first win of a fruitless tour.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

But India, as they’ve shown throughout the five games, have plenty of depth within their batting ranks. So with Kohli and Ambati Rayudu at the crease, there was little cause to panic. The duo gave India a vital platform in their innings before Rayudu eventually departed in the 28th over for 59 with the score looking a lot healthier at 150-3.

Kohli remained, though, and like Mathews had done earlier in the day, played a proper captain’s knock. During which, he went past 1,000 ODI runs for the calendar year, per statistician Mohandas Menon:

He went on to notch his 21st ODI century, and as noted here by cricket writer Ali Martin, that is some achievement for a player who is still very young: 

But worryingly for India, wickets were beginning to tumble around their star batsman. Robin Uthappa and Kedar Jahav could only get starts—falling for 19 and 20 respectively—so when the excellent Ajantha Mendis took the wickets of Stuart Binny and Ravichandran Ashwin in consecutive balls, the hosts were in big trouble at 231/7. Now they had to conjure 56 runs to win from 40 deliveries.

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Kohli is a player who always gives you a chance, though, as he began to accelerate his scoring with distinction. A six and two fours from overs 46 and 47 helped bring the rate down, and suddenly India were favourites once again. Indeed, the India skipper knocked off the runs required with a serene distinction, finishing with a six for good measure and sending the Ranchi crowd into raptures.

For India this was a real test. After getting a little ragged with the ball and losing early wickets in their response, lesser sides would have crumbled against a decent Sri Lankan attack. But the calibre with which Kohli—who finished with a sparkling 139 from 126 balls—and Rayudu played reeked of a team that is wholly confident.

After a 5-0 series whitewash against one of the world's top ODI outfits, why wouldn't they be?