Virat Kohli confirms giving another chance to youngsters in fifth ODI

Colombo, Aug 31: India Skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday (August 31) seemed mighty pleased with his team's clinical 168-run win over Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI.

Kohli assured that he would test the bench strength and give chance to the youngsters in the fifth and final ODI, which is a dead rubber.

Batting first, India amassed whopping 375/5 as Kohli (131 off 96 balls) and opener Rohit Sharma (104 off 88 balls) smashed sublime centuries.

The visitors then put up another clinical show, defending their total, and dismissed Sri Lanka to 207 in 42.4 overs to take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.

"It was a good game for us. We spoke about not getting complacent at any stage and today was a clinical performance," said Kohli," who was adjudged the Man of the Match for his scintillating innings.

Talking about the toss, Kohli said: "We wanted to bat first because we hadn't batted first in the three games. The wicket was amazing to bat on. It was a good toss to win, we put up a good score and it was very difficult for the opposition to maintain that required run rate."

Asked if he would continue to experiment with the playing eleven in the next game, Kohli said: "We've given opportunities to three new guys. They will get another opportunity. Batting order is flexible and we can experiment depending on the situation of the game."

Sri Lanka's stand-in skipper Lasith Malinga today claimed his 300th wicket when he dismissed Kohli in the 30th over.

Asked about the achievement, he said: "300 wickets is special. But, it is just a number. I feel these last few days, I'm not doing well for the team. Still lost the game and that doesn't feel good."

Sri Lanka today succumbed to their sixth straight ODI defeat and Malinga hoped his team will make a comeback in the next match. "We are still to get 250 in the series, I think the youngsters are too excited and couldn't perform well to their potential. Hopefully, they will come back strong and perform well in the coming games," he said.