Suryakumar Yadav’s new T20I era for India got off to a great start, despite moments of nervousness during their defense of a large total. With just five bowling options, an Indian squad struggling mightily against a strong Sri Lankan batting lineup led by Pathum Nissanka’s blistering 79. Pressure from scoreboards was one of them. Even with nine wickets remaining, Sri Lanka needed to get 74 runs off of 36.
After being given a ball by Ravi Bishnoi at deep midwicket, Nissanka fell to Axar Patel, allowing the floodgates to flow. Kusal Perera fell four balls later, giving India a double-strike after the opening over. It would be the beginning of an incredible collapse, with Sri Lanka losing 9 out of 30 to give up a game they would have been favorites to win.
Gill and Jaiswal lay down a marker
Shubman Gill had admitted on match eve that his T20I batting style needed to be improved. He demonstrated his words on Saturday by tugging and trimming everything just a little too short to put the bowlers under duress during the powerplay. As India’s new opening pair devolved into a spirited competition of one-upmanship, Yashasvi Jaiswal was equally combative.
Sri Lanka was offended by Jaiswal’s intentions and their early introduction of spin. He opened the proceedings by hitting a clean six over long off to Maheesh Theekshana, and he then unleashed a vicious slog sweep for four. Over the course of a 74-run first-wicket partnership, India struck 11 fours and three sixes in the powerplay. Gill then miscued a lofted drive to mid-on, which allowed Dilshan Madushanka to smash 34 off 16 balls.
SKY offsets Sri Lanka’s double-strike
Following Gill’s removal, Jaiswal was bowled out for a 21-ball 40 off the very next ball by Wanindu Hasaranga when he hit a ripping googly. However, Suryakumar was soon at ease with his surroundings, playing the pick-up flick inside the line and finding a boundary with his second ball out of the bag. When he top-edged a Madushanka bouncer in the eighth over, he gave himself a chance on 15, but Asitha Fernando dropped the ball at fine leg. It would turn out to be expensive.
With his abundance of sweeps, Suryakumar punished Hasaranga and the ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis to build a half-century stand for the third wicket, with Rishabh Pant contributing just 11 runs. Suryakumar blasted numerous arcs on the legside boundary. In a short while, Suryakumar achieved his second-fastest T20I half-century in just 22 balls, but he was caught off guard by Matheesha Pathirana, who was not allowed to finish the innings until the 12th over.
Pathirana leads Sri Lanka fightback
Pant needed 15 balls and Asitha’s mishandled catch at deep square leg to get his maiden boundary. After Suryakumar was dismissed, he followed it up with a helicopter shot over midwicket in the 16th over, ending a 14-ball boundary drought. For the most part of his innings, Pant didn’t even really able to shift out of second gear. He clawed his way to 20 off 23 before he hit his first six. Making 29 of the following 10, he ultimately fell 49 while trying to take down Pathirana for the third consecutive boundary.
In order to clean bowl Hardik and Pant, Pathirana adhered to his basic bowling ethos of straight and quick. Riyan Parag was dismissed in the same manner as Suryakumar, lbw to a low-arm slinger as they missed full deliveries. After being 135 for 2 after 12 overs, India ended with 213 runs, with Pathirana finishing at 4 for 40.
The Nissanka-Mendis turbocharge
In the third over, Axar’s drifters trapped both of Sri Lanka’s batters, forcing them to the stumps and beginning their chase. When Nissanka hammered Mohammed Siraj for two sixes in the fourth over, first over third man and then over deep midwicket, he turned things up a level. After 31 balls, Sri Lanka reached their fifty.
As he continued to fire deliveries down leg, Ravi Bishnoi swept and reverse-swept with contempt, greeting Hardik with a bludgeon through point. India were on edge when Mendis broke through the line to ruthlessly flip Arshdeep Singh into the grass banks in the ninth over. However, the batsman failed to replicate the stroke off the subsequent delivery, holing out to deep midwicket.
Parag justifies selection
Ravi Bishnoi swept and reverse-swept with disdain, welcoming Hardik with a sledgehammer through point as he kept putting deliveries down leg. When Mendis mercilessly flipped Arshdeep Singh into the grass banks in the ninth over, he broke through the line and alarmed the Indians. But the batsman holped out to deep midwicket, unable to repeat the hit off the next delivery.
Following India’s fortunate dismissal of Dasun Shanaka, which was made possible by Siraj’s agility at short third, Parag bowled Kamindu, conceding just five runs at a crucial juncture. Then he was allowed a second over when, in a show of good faith, he picked out Theekshana and Madushanka off consecutive deliveries to win the match for Sri Lanka, who were all but out and needed 44 from six.
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