Colombo: Skipper Virat Kohli's perfectly measured chase ensured a comfortable seven wicket win in the lone Twenty20 game as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka.
It was the first time that an Indian cricket team registered an all-win record across formats in an overseas tour.
Chasing a competitive 171 for win, Kohli led from the front with a fluent 82 off 54 deliveries while Manish Pandey played the second fiddle by remaining unbeaten on a career- best 51 to guide India home comfortably with four balls to spare.
Kohli's blazing blade was not only punishing the Sri Lankan bowlers but it also spelt doom for the standing umpire – almost.
In the 16th over of the Indian chase, Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga brought back Lasith Malinga – his last throw of the dice to stop India from getting the remaining 38 runs. His first four deliveries went according to plan yielding only 4 runs but Kohli was not content. He wanted to dent whatever hopes Sri Lanka had of a miracle and in the process almost ended up blowing the head off umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge.
It was a fuller length delivery on and around the off stump; Kohli used his wrists to bludgeon it after a shimmy down the pitch. The ball flew past Palliyaguruge, narrowly evading his head. In an attempt to take evasive action, the umpire lost his footing and fell to the ground.
Palliyaguruge immediately stood up and shared a laugh but even knew that he had a lucky escape.