Pallekele: In his first innings as India’s full-time T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav smashed his 20th T20I half-century and kept his calm as a leader when the bowlers were put under pressure as the visitors went 1-0 up in the three-match series with a 43-run win over Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
On a fresh pitch, Yashasvi Jaiswal tore into bowlers in power-play with a 21-ball 40, while sharing a 74-run opening stand with Shubman Gill. Suryakumar built on the stunning start by hitting 58 off 26 balls, laced with eight fours and two sixes at a strike-rate of 223.08.
Rishabh Pant struggled to get going initially but managed to accelerate at the end to make 49 off 33 balls, as India made a massive 213/7. For Sri Lanka, pacer Matheesha Pathirana got his yorkers and slower balls spot on to grab 4-40, with the hosts’ fielding being sloppy.
In reply, Pathum Nissanka came out all guns blazing with a stylish 48-ball 79 and shared an 84-run opening stand with Kusal Mendis to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt of chasing the target. But after Mendis fell, Sri Lanka lost their remaining nine wickets for just 30 runs to be bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs, especially with five wickets falling from over 15 to 18. Riyan Parag took 3-5, while Arshdeep Singh grabbed 2-24 and Axar Patel picked 2-38. India’s boundary-hitting show began from the opening over when Jaiswal pulled Dilshan Madushanka for four before Gill capitalised on the width by cutting the left-arm pacer twice for consecutive fours.
There was no stopping a ruthless Jaiswal – picking two fours off Asitha Fernando, before lofting and sweeping Maheesh Theekshana for six and four respectively, followed by surviving an lbw appeal off the spinner. Gill used Fernando’s pace by dabbing him through off-side for four, before rolling his wrists to get a pulled boundary, followed by Jaiswal bringing up India’s fifty by nailing the pull over deep mid-wicket for six.
The crowd continued to be silent as Gill lofted and whipped Madushanka for consecutive fours, before pulling him for six. But the crowd found its voice back as the Indian openers fell on consecutive deliveries. Gill was foxed by a slower ball while trying to go down the ground and was caught by mid-on, while Jaiswal was stumped off a vicious googly by Wanindu Hasaranga.
With Hasaranga making the ball talk, it meant Pant struggled to get going, including being dropped in the 13th over, which was masked by Suryakumar’s brilliance. Suryakumar was blazing from the word go – playing a trademark pick-up shot off Madushanka for six, followed by lapping and pulling the pacer for consecutive fours. He greeted Kamindu Mendis with an inside-out loft over cover for four, before sweeping Hasaranga twice for boundaries.
Suryakumar whipped Pathirana for six, before getting his fifty in 22 balls by whipping Theekshana for four, bisecting deep mid-wicket and wide long-on to perfection. He then played a straight drive off Pathirana for four and brought up India’s 150 in the 14th over, before being beaten for sheer pace by a fuller delivery from the pacer to be trapped lbw for 58. Pant broke a brief quiet period by playing a helicopter shot off Fernando for six, followed by getting a thick edge on the slog going for four more. After Pathirana castled Hardik Pandya with a searing yorker, Pant sliced him for a boundary, before he and Parag took a four each off Theekshana.
Though Parag was trapped lbw by another smashing yorker from Pathirana, Pant scooped and whipped (lost his control on the bat) to hit consecutive fours, taking India past 200. But the left-hander lost his shape on an early slog off Pathirana and saw his off-stump being rattled by the pacer. After Rinku Singh chopped-on off Fernando, Axar Patel drilled a lofted drive over the bowler’s head to take India past 210-mark. Chasing 214, Nissanka began with two sumptuous boundaries off Arshdeep, followed by Mendis taking a brace of boundaries off Axar.
Nissanka continued to be sublime – upper-cutting and pulling Mohammed Siraj for two sixes, followed by Mendis cutting and sweeping Ravi Bishnoi for a brace of boundaries. After Mendis ended the Power-play with a sweep off Axar to ensure Sri Lanka amassed 55 runs off the Power-play, the openers took a four each off Bishnoi. Mendis continued to be attacking by taking Pandya for two fours, before pulling Arshdeep for six. But the left-arm pacer had the last laugh by having Mendis pull straight to deep square leg and break the 84-run opening partnership. Nissanka continued to be at his sublime best – pulling Arshdeep for a maximum, before getting his fifty in 34 balls as a direct hit deflected off stumps to make it six runs off the first ball of the 12th over.
Nissanka swung Hardik off his pads for four more, before reverse-sweeping and pulling off Axar to take consecutive boundaries. He brought up a fifty-run stand of his partnership with Mendis by clobbering Hardik over square leg for six and had luck on his side when Bishnoi dropped his catch on 78. But on the very next ball, Axar broke the 56-run stand when he castled Nissanka with an arm ball and beat the batter for pace to dismiss him for 79.
After Kusal Perera took two fours off him, Axar bounced back by having the batter slog-sweep straight to deep square leg, to take two scalps in the 15th over. India’s fightback continued as Bishnoi got a wicket on the last ball of his spell when a top-edge on Charith Asalanka’s slog-sweep was caught by deep square leg, followed by Dasun Shanaka run-out for a diamond duck.
Parag got his first T20I wicket by castling Kamindu Mendis, followed by Arshdeep having Hasaranga caught at mid-on. Siraj had Pathirana caught in the deep, followed by Parag taking out two remaining wickets to ensure India started the series with a win under Suryakumar and Gautam Gambhir era. Brief scores: India 213/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 58, Rishabh Pant 49; Matheesha Pathirana 4-40) beat Sri Lanka 170 in 19.2 overs (Pathum Nissanka 79, Kusal Mendis 45; Riyan Parag 3-5, Arshdeep Singh 2-24) by 43 runs .
IANS
