Sri Lanka held India to a draw in a thrilling finale to the first ODI of their series on Friday.

Charith Asalanka was the hero for Sri Lanka in Colombo, taking two wickets in the space of two balls to bowl India out for 230.

Pathum Nissanka (56) and Dunith Wellalage (67) led the way for Sri Lanka with the bat, propelling them to 230-8 from their 50 overs, with the pair plundering 18 boundaries between them.

India looked well set for the first 12 overs, until the dismissal of Shubman Gill (16) kick-started a mini-capitulation, with captain Rohit Sharma (58), Washington Sundar (five), Virat Kohli (24) and Shreyas Iyer (23) following in quick succession.

KL Rahul and Axar Patel appeared to have steadied the ship, but Wanindu Hasaranga (3-58) and Asalanka (3-30) struck in the space of seven deliveries to drag Sri Lanka back into it.

And the day ultimately belonged to Asalanka who, after being hit for four by Shivam Dube (25) in the 48th over, hit back with a pair of LBWs to leave the tourists stunned.

Data Debrief: India's dominance ended

India had won each of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, their joint-longest winning streak against them in the history of the format (along with a run between July 1998 and May 1999), but for the first time since a loss in Colombo in July 2021, they failed to get the job done.

This match did see the two form teams in ODIs take each other on. India (27) and Sri Lanka (22) have won more 50-over games than any other teams since the start of 2023.

The Colombo Stars opened their 2024 Lanka Premier League campaign with a win over the Kandy Falcons at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

The Falcons, who opened their campaign with a win on Monday, put the Strikers in to bat after winning the toss.

Colombo made use of the opportunity, posting 198-7 from their 20 overs.

It was a collective effort with the bat for the Stars as Sadeera Samarawickrama, skipper Thisara Perera, Muhammad Waseem, Chamika Karunaratne and Shadab Khan all made solid contributions.

Samarawickrama led the way with 48 from 26 balls including seven fours and a six while being well supported by Perera (38 off 30), Waseem (32 off 18), Karunaratne (25* off 10) and Khan (20 off 17).

Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga took 2-30 from his four overs.

The Falcons got starts from Dinesh Chandimal, Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews and Andre Fletcher but they weren’t enough as their chase fizzled out, eventually being dismissed for 147 with one ball left in the 16^th over.

Chandimal made a top score of 38 while Hasaranga, Matthews and Fletcher made scores of 25, 25 and 24, respectively.

Shadab Khan led the way with 4-22 from his four overs including the tournament’s first hat-trick in the 15^th over.

Dunith Wellalage took 4-20 from 3.5 overs.

Full Scores:

Colombo Stars 198-7 from 20 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 48, Thisara Perera 38, Muhammad Waseem 32, Chamika Karunaratne 25*, Shadab Khan 20, Wanindu Hasaranga 2-30)

Kandy Falcons 147 off 15.5 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 38, Wanindu Hasaranga 25, Angelo Mathews 25, Andre Fletcher 24, Dunith Wellalage 4-20, Shadab Khan 4-22)

Action continues on Wednesday when the Dambulla Sixers take on the Jaffna Kings at 4:30 AM before the Colombo Strikers face the Galle Marvels at 9:30 AM (Jamaica Time).

Both games can be seen live on Sportsmax.