India defeated Sri Lanka by 78 runs in the last and decisive T20 match played in Pune and captured the three-match T20 series 2–0. Team India came out to bat first after losing the toss and scored 201 runs after losing 6 wickets in 20 overs and set a target of 202 runs to win in front of Sri Lanka. In response, Sri Lanka collapsed for 123 runs in 15.5 overs. Let us tell you that the first match in Guwahati was cancelled due to rain and wet pitch, while in the second match played in Indore, India won unilaterally to take a 1-0 lead in the series. In Pune, India won the series 2–0 by winning a big win over Sri Lanka by 78 runs.
Sri Lanka lost four top-order wickets in the powerplay itself. Dhananjay De Silva (57 off 36 balls) and Angelo Mathews (31 off 20 balls) added 68 runs for the fifth wicket to give Sri Lanka hope in the middle but their partnership collapsed after their team collapsed to 123 in 15.5 overs. Apart from Dhananjay and Mathews, Sri Lankan batsman could not touch the figure of 10.
Sri Lanka lost the last six wickets within 29 runs. This is India’s 13th win in T20 against Sri Lanka. Navdeep Saini was the most successful bowler for India. He took 3 wickets for 28 runs and was adjudged Man of the Series. Man of the match Shardul took 2 wickets for 19 runs. Washington Sundar took 2 wickets for 37 runs. Bumrah got a wicket.
RelatedPosts
India gave a target of 202 runs to Sri Lanka
Team India scored 201 runs losing 6 wickets in 20 overs and set a target of 202 runs to win in front of Sri Lanka. For India, KL Rahul hit 54 runs from 36 balls while Shikhar Dhawan scored 52 runs in 36 balls. Virat Kohli (26 off 17 balls) who came out to bat at number six and Manish Pandey (31 not out from 18 balls), added 42 runs for the fifth wicket.
But it was Shardul Thakur who scored 22 not out off eight balls to take the team beyond 200 runs. Pandey and Thakur shared an unbroken partnership of 37 runs off 14 balls. The most successful bowler for Sri Lanka was Chinaman Sandakan. He took three wickets for 35 runs.
The pair of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul gave India a stormy start. Both the openers together added 97 runs for the first wicket. Sandakan dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the 11th over of India’s innings. Sandakan gave the first blow to India by getting Shikhar Dhawan caught by Danushka Gunathilaka.
Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed after scoring 52 runs. Sanju Samson was sent to number three in place of Captain Kohli. He hit a six on the first ball. After this, LBW out on the second ball. Lokesh Rahul returned to the pavilion after scoring 54 runs. He was stumped after completely missed Sandakana’s googly. Sandakan also sent new batsman Shreyas Iyer (four) to the pavilion and forced Kohli to come to the crease.
Kohli hit a six over Matthews but the Indian captain, who was a master of the race between the wickets, was run out in an attempt to take a second run. In this over of Kumara, Washington Sundar gave an easy catch on the third man. Shardul showed his batting skills here and hit sixes on both Malinga and Kumara. Pandey hit four boundaries in his unbeaten innings.
Sri Lanka won the toss
Sri Lankan captain Lasith Malinga decided to bowl after winning the toss and invited India to bat first. India made three changes. Sanju Samson finally got a chance. He came in the team in place of Rishabh Pant. In place of Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dubey, Yuzvendra Chahal and Manish Pandey got a place in the team. Sri Lanka made two changes in their team. Angelo Mathews and Lakshan Sandakana got a place in the team.
