The first half of the match provided lot of entertainment to a 45,000 capacity crowd as a century each by India openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan propelled India to record ODI total at Barabati _  the previous highest being 301 for three by India against Zimbabwe in 1997-98.
Rahane and Dhawan gave India a solid foundation, stitching together 231 runs for the opening wicket in 35 overs. This was the highest for the opening wicket in an ODI at Barabati, the previous highest being 188 between India`s K Srikanth and Ravi Shastri against England in 1984-85.
After negotiating the first 10 overs with caution the duo set the opposition bowlers on a leather hunt, playing all sorts of shots. Complementing each other they reached respective fifties in the same over (21st) in which off-spinner Suraj Randiv leaked 17 runs. Dhawan hit him for two fours and a six in successive balls.
Rahane was first to reach his hundred, taking a single off Tilakratne Dilshan in the 32nd over. This was the classy batsman`s second ODI hundred, which came off 99 balls and included 12 fours and two sixes. Dhawan followed suit in style, notching up his sixth ODI ton with a six off over mid-wicket off Seekuge Prasanna in the 33rd over. He faced 96 balls and hit 12 fours and three sixes.
This was the first instance in 11 years that both the India openers scored respective hundred in the same ODI. Virender Sehwag (130) and Sachin Tendulkar (102) had achieved the feat in the 2003 TVS Cup match against New Zealand at Hyderabad. India`s decision to avail the batting power-play from 24th over proved immensely helpful as the five overs produced 62 runs.
After doing splendid jobs, the two openers departed in space of four overs. Dhawan got out in the last ball of the 35th over when he was bowled by off-spinner Ashan Priyanjan for 113 (107b, 14x4, 3x6). Rahane followed him, miss-timing a low full toss off Suraj Randiv and giving a comfortable catch to Jayawardene. His 111 off 108 balls was studded with 13hits to the fence and two over it.
Suresh Raina, who came to bat at No 3 position, continued run feast, hitting 34-ball 52 with the help of four fours and three sixes. He hit Thisara Perera for two fours and one six in the 41st over, which proved to be most productive for India, fetching 20 runs. Skipper Kohli also hit a four in the same over.
Raina crossed 5,000 runs in his 200th ODI, taking two runs in the first ball of 44th over, bowled by Randiv. In this eventful over, Raina hit the next ball for a six to register his 32nd ODI fifty but was trapped lbw in the next ball. The left-hander?s breezy knock was embellished with four boundaries and three sixes.
Though India lost a few wickets in the death overs, runs continued to flow freely. Axar Patel, who came into the side in place of Ravindra Jadeda, gave an explosive finish to the innings, smashing the first two balls he faced against speedster Prasad for sixes. Adding insult to injury, Patel was dropped by skipper Mathews in the last ball of the final over.
The visitors, in fact, floored as many three catches in the match. The chief culprit was wicket-keeper Kumara Sangakkara, who earlier let both the openers off the hook. He first dropped Dhawan?s edge off Prasad in the seventh over when the batsman was on 10. Rahane got a life on 42 when Sanga dropped a difficult catch off Perera in the second ball of the 18th over.
The only positive of the innings for Sri Lanka was the impressive performance by their new ball bowlers Prasad and Gamage. Of course, the Barabati track helped them a lot, offering good bounce and a bit of movement. But the duo bowled on the right areas and kept the Indian openers quiet for the first 10 overs.
AWARD FOR GROUND STAFF: Odisha Cricket Association announced a cash award of Rs 2 lakh for its chief curator Pankaj Patnaik and all other ground staff for preparing a very good pitch for the high-scoring match.
SCOREBOARD
INDIA: A Rahane c Jayawardene b Randiv 111, S Dhawan b Priyanjan 113, S Raina lbw Randiv 52, V Kohli c Perera b Randiv 22, A Rayudu c Perera b Gamage 27, W Saha (not out) 10, A Patel (not out) 14; Extras (lb-5, w-7, nb-2) 14
Total (5 wkts; 50 overs) 363
Fall of wickets: 1-231, 2-247, 3-299, 4-314, 5-344
Bowling: K Prasad 9-0-60-0, P Gamage 9-1-59-1, A Mathews 4-0-33-0, N Perera 7-0-51-0, S Randiv 10-0-78-3, S Prasanna 6-0-47-0, T Dilshan 3-0-19-0, S Priyanjan 2-0-11-1
SRI LANKA: U Tharanga c Dhawan b Ashwin 28, T Dilshan c Saha b Yadav 18, K Sangakkara c Saha b Sharma 13, D Jayawardene c Kohli b Patel 43, S Prasanna c Rahane b Patel 5, A Mathews c Patel b Raina 23, S Priyanjan c Saha b Sharma 12, N Perera c Sharma b Yadav 29, S Randiv b Sharma 5, K Prasad c Saha b Sharma 0, P Gamage (not out) 0; Extras (lb-4, w-13, nb-1) 18
Total (all out; 39.2 overs) 194
Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-61, 3-84, 4-109, 5-130, 6-144, 7-167, 8-175, 9-175, 10-194
Bowling: U Yadav 6.2-2-24-2, V Aaron 4.1-0-26-0, I Sharma 8-1-34-4, V Kohli 0.5-0-6-0, R Ashwin 9-0-52-1, A Patel 6-0-24-2, S Raina 5-0-24-1
--------------------------------------------------- PHOTOS ---------------------------------------------------
TOP: India opener Shikhar Dhawan celebrates after scoring a century in the Cuttack ODI.
RIGHT: Man of the match Ajinkya Rahane celebrates after scoring a century in the Cuttack ODI.