During the first T20I of the Nidahas Trophy between Sri Lanka and India at Colombo, India scored a considerable total of 174-5 in 20 overs after being put in to bat by the opposition captain in Dinesh Chandimal. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for the visitors to restrict the hosts as the Islanders chased down the target with 1 over to spare and 5 wickets in hand.
The toss had finally put an end to the rumors regarding India’s playing XI for this match. India had opted for Rishabh Pant ahead of KL Rahul in the middle order. Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu’s skipper, was handed a maiden international cap. Washington Sundar’s inclusion meant that Axar Patel had to further wait for his chance to be included in the playing eleven.
Dushmantha Chameera drew first blood in the form of the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma (0). Suresh Raina, who made his comeback on the recently-concluded tour of South Africa, failed to score big as he was bowled by Nuwan Pradeep for 1 in the second over.
It was a 95-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey which brought India back on the track. After Pandey (37) was dismissed in the 13th over, Dhawan took the complete onus on him. By that time, he had completed his fifth T20I half-century.
Pant was sent in ahead of Dinesh Karthik but was unable to keep the scoreboard ticking. He struggled to find his timing, as a result of which, the pressure kept on mounting on Dhawan. The opener has to be credited for he played sensible innings at a time when his team required it the most. He ended up scoring 90 (49) with the help of six fours and six sixes and was dismissed by Danushka Gunathilaka in the 18th over.
In their allotted quota of 20 overs, India scored 174-5, a score which they would have agreed upon after losing Rohit and Raina in the first two overs. Pant was the last Indian batsman to depart. He scored an ordinary 23 (23) with the help of a four and a six. Karthik, who came in to bat at No. 6 remained unbeaten on 13.
For Sri Lanka, with bowling figures of 4-0-33-2, Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the bowlers. Their spinners in Akila Dananajaya, Jeevan Mendis, and Danushka Gunathilaka bowled half of the overs and conceded only 74 runs.
In the second innings, Sri Lanka started cruising high and happy from bowl one, only to shake briefly at the first sign of disturbance but they found a way to once again regain altitude and then cruise home to victory.
Thisara Perera’s exploits, in the end, helped them chase down the target but that they got well ahead of the asking rate early on was thanks to Kusal Perera’s 22-ball fifty. India will rue their slow batting, especially towards the end of their innings, but at least they’d know it wasn’t because of lack of trying.
The men in blue could also perhaps regret the absence of an extra specialist bowler. Going in with a super-deep batting line-up left them hoping and praying one of Vijay or Suresh Raina come good with the ball tonight, more so after one of their frontline bowlers disappeared early on.
Sri Lanka has finally broken their seven-match T20I losing streak against India which started in 2016. Each of Sri Lanka’s top seven made double-digit scores today. This has happened only once previously in a successful chase (by Afgh v UAE, Dubai, 2016).
For his brilliant performance, Kusal Perera was adjudged as the Player of the Match.
Sri Lanka 175 for 5 (Kusal Perera 66, Sundar 2-28) beat India 174 for 5 (Dhawan 90, Chameera 2-32) by five wickets
