Team India defeated host Sri Lanka by wickets (DLS Method) in a rain-affected match at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. With this win, India clinched the 3-match T20I series in Sri Lanka with one game remaining by handing a defeat to the Lankan Lions for the second time in two days.
The match summarizes that Sri Lanka was restricted to 161/9 in 20 overs, but after the first innings, rain disrupted the game, forcing match officials to cut off 12 overs from the second innings and giving the Indian team a revised target of 78 in 8 overs.
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav chose to field first after winning the toss, which was delayed by 45 minutes owing to inclement weather. This decision of SKY paid off early when Arshdeep Singh scalped Kusal Mendis in the fourth over of the powerplay.
After that, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera had a 54-run partnership stand to steady the Lankan innings; however, after hitting 32 off of 24 deliveries, Nissanka was bowled out by Ravi Bishnoi. Before Hardik Pandya dismissed Kamindu Mendis for 26 off 23. However, Perera and Mendis had another 50-run stand and left Sri Lanka in a commanding position.
But after that, Ravi Bishnoi wreaked havoc on Sri Lankan batters and trapped the most destructive batter of this Lankan batting lineup, Dasun Shanaka, who went for a golden duck in consecutive innings. Bishnoi then struck timber once more, dismissing Wanindu Hasaranga for a second first-ball duck to clinch his three-wicket haul.
The middle-order collapse of Sri Lanka continued as Arshdeep removed skipper Charith Asalanka for 14 off 12 before Axar Patel dismissed Maheesh Theekshana and Ramesh Mendis in the last over to restrict the home team to only 161 runs.
During the innings break, Rain Gods in Lanka decided that it was showtime in Sri Lanka, and Rain delayed the match for almost an hour. Because of this, India was handed a revised target of 78 to win in 8 overs by the DL method.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, who had come in for Shubman Gill in this match, opened the chase for India. However, Sanju Samson was dismissed for a golden duck by spinner Maheesh Theekshana.
Then Surya came out to bat and picked up where he left off yesterday. Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat at No. 3 and kept the scoreboard ticking over with boundaries. The captain appeared to be hitting boundaries as he led his team past the 50-run mark in 4.1 overs when Matheesha Pathirana removed him for 26 off 12 deliveries.
Before leaving the crease after Hasaranga scalped him, Jaiswal also contributed to the visitors’ win with a quick 30-run knock. India had all the cushion they needed to finish the game without incident thanks to a six from Hardik Pandya in the sixth over, which removed pressure and gave India an easy win.
