The pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur were all on song as they shared six wickets between them as India beat a hapless Sri Lanka by 78 runs in the third T20 international at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday. With the mammoth victory, India also clinched the three-match T20I series 2-0.
Navdeep Saini was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 3/28 from his 3.5 overs. He was well assisted by Jasprit Bumrah (1/5) and Shardul Thakur (2/19) who had given India a perfect start after the hosts set a target of 202 for the visitors.
After Bumrah dismissed Danushka Gunathilaka in the first over, Thakur sent pack the dangerous Avishka Fernando in the second as Sri Lanka lost both their openers inside three overs.
With the double whammy proving to be a dampener in what was expected to be a tall chase for Sri Lanka, the visitors then lost Oshada Fernando in a mix-up to be staring down the barrel. Navdeep Saini then struck in the sixth over to clean up Kusal Perera for just seven.
As Sri Lanka lost wickets in a flurry, a 68-run partnership between Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva for the fifth wicket did stall the slide for a bit but once the latter was dismissed in the 12th over, it was the end of the road for them.
De Silva did put up a valiant fight, scoring 57 off 36 deliveries, but it was a little too much left to do for the 28-year-old as he ran out of partners at the other end. Sri Lanka lost the last four wickets in the span of just 12 deliveries.
Earlier, a late cameo from Shardul Thakur (22 off eight balls) and Manish Pandey (31 off 18 deliveries) helped India reach 201/6 at the end of their innings after being put in to bat first by Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga.
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul set the perfect platform for India before they both fell in quick succession while Sanju Samson, who was playing just his second T20I after making a debut in 2015, fell cheaply scoring six off two deliveries.
India’s troubles were compounded after in-form Shreyas Iyer, too, headed back to the pavilion scoring just four off two balls.
Dhawan and KL Rahul had stitched a 97-run opening stand before the swashbuckling southpaw was dismissed scoring 52 off 36 deliveries. He fell after trying to loft Lakshan Sandakan over the deep mid-wicket boundary in the 11th over.
Dhawan had an early reprieve as he was dropped in the second over of the game. He used it to full effect, taking the Sri Lankan bowlers to the cleaners.
Dhawan’s knock was laced with seven boundaries and a six. It complimented KL Rahul’s explosive start at the other end as well with the right-handed batsman continuing from where he had left in the second T20I. However, he too was dismissed right after scoring his half-century, a 36-ball 54 studded with five boundaries and a six.
Sanju Samson, who got a nod in the playing XI in place of Rishabh Pant, though failed to grab the opportunity as he headed back as he was trapped in front of the very second delivery he faced. He had struck a six off the first ball but got trumped by Wanindu Hasaranga in the 12th over.
Quite like Samson, Iyer, too struck a boundary off his first ball before getting out off the second delivery he faced.
For India, Sanju Samson had replaced Rishabh Pant while Yuzvendra Chahal entered the side in place of Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, Manish Pandey replaced Shivam Dube in the playing XI. For Sri Lanka, Angelo Matthews had come in the place of Isuru Udana.
At the toss, skipper Virat Kohli said he too would have opted to bat first. “We wanted to bat first as we wanted to do something different today. Toss was almost irrelevant as we knew they wanted to bowl first. Batting first is something we want to do more,” he said.
“We have made three changes. Sanju Samson comes in place of Rishabh Pant. Chahal replaces Kuldeep who gets a rest and Manish Pandey gets a game in place of Shivam Dube. We are playing with five bowlers and it will be a challenge for them to defend the target.”Virat Kohli, India skipper
Playing XI
India: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (w), Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera (wk), Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga (capt) and Lahiru Kumara
The last T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune was also played between India and Sri Lanka with the latter winning he contest by five wickets.
Virat Kohli’s men notched up a routine seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second match at Indore on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Opting to field first on a wicket that is known to assist batsmen, Indian bowlers put up a solid show to restrict Sri Lanka to a below-par 142 for nine.
The first match of the three-match series was a wash-out without a ball being bowled at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.
Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur led the charge for Indian pacers picking up five wickets between them. While Saini was the most economical, giving away just 18 runs in his four overs while picking up two wickets, Thakur struck thrice in the penultimate over to ruin any chances of a late flourish.
The Indian batsman then complimented the bowlers in style, with all the top-four batsmen scoring north of 30 to help India coast to a comfortable victory. Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 30 off 17 balls and hit the winning runs, but the platform had already been set by KL Rahul (45), Shikhar Dhawan (32) and Shreyas Iyer (34).
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