In the first match, Indian bowlers got the job done without any trouble as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series
Our Bureau
Colombo
Wanindu Hasaranga picked four wickets before Sri Lankan batsmen wrapped an easy win in the third and final T20I against India to clinch the three-match series 2-1 on Thursday. Sri Lanka needed 82 runs to win against the depleted Indian side in the series decider and the hosts chase down the target comfortably inside 15 overs. Chasing 82, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start as Rahul Chahar removed opening batsman Avishka Fernando in the sixth over. It was a slow start from Sri Lanka but the hosts were far from any trouble as they only needed 82 runs to win.
Chahar did pick two more wickets as he dismissed Minod Bhanuka and Sadeera Samarawickrama but wasn’t able to stop Sri Lanka from chasing the target. Earlier, Hasaranga celebrated his 24th birthday in style as he picked four wickets to restrict India to 81/8.
Opting to bat first, India got off to bad start as the visitors lost skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the first over. A mix-up in the middle resulted in Devdutt Padikkal getting run out in the fifth over. Sanju Samson’s wicket in the same over only dented India’s chances of having a decent total. Ruturaj Gaikwad (14), who was playing well, too departed in the fifth over.
India lost three wickets in the fifth over and Nitish Rana’s dismissal in the ninth over left the visitors reeling at 36/5 with no recognised batsman at the crease. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav then stitched a 19-run stand for the sixth wicket however, Hasaranga sent back the pacer in the 15th over.
Earlier on Wednesday, Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten knock of 40 runs followed by Chamika Karunaratne’s cameo of 12 runs helped Sri Lanka defeat India by four wickets in the second T20I of the three-match series here at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.
With that win, Sri Lanka had levelled the three-match series at 1-1. Chasing 133, Sri Lanka got off to a bad start as Avishka Fernando (11) was sent back to the pavilion by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second over of the innings. Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 8 runs from 12 balls and his struggle finally ended in the 7th over as Varun Chakravarthy clean bowled him, reducing Sri Lanka to 39/2.
Skipper Dasun Shanaka (3) failed to leave a mark as he was stumped by Sanju Samson of the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav and Sri Lanka were reduced to 55/3, still needing 78 runs more for the win from 65 balls. The set batsman Minod Bhanuka (36) was also dismissed by Kuldeep and Sri Lanka was put on the back foot at 66/4.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan top-scored with a knock of 40 runs as India posted 132/5 in the allotted 20 overs. Sent into bat first, India got off to a steady start as openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad put on 45 runs inside the first six overs. The first-wicket stand of 49 runs finally came to an end on the final delivery of the seventh over as Gaikwad (21) was sent back to the pavilion by Dasun Shanaka.
Devdutt Padikkal then joined Dhawan in the middle and both batters found it tough to rotate the strike. However, in the 11th over, Padikkal broke the shackles as he dispatched Dhananjaya de Silva for a massive six. However, the 32-run stand between these two batters finally ended in the 13th over as Akila Dananjaya clean bowled Dhawan (40), reducing India to 81/2.
In trying to look for a big shot, Padikkal (29) also perished in the 16th over, having been clean bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga, reducing India to 99/3.
Sanju Samson (7) also failed to leave a mark and India were struggling to post a respectable score on the board.
Earlier on Sunday, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the first T20I of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Having won the ODI series 2-1, the Dhawan-led side under the guidance of head coach Rahul Dravid were looking to win the T20I series as well. In the first game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked four while Deepak Chahar scalped two wickets as India defeated Sri Lanka by 38 runs in the first T20I.
