Sri Lanka enjoyed a good run in Mendis’ captaincy in the ODI format. The 29-year-old has been in good touch with the bat and guided Sri Lanka to five consecutive home match triumphs against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe
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Pallekele
India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh turned out to be the unlikely heroes with the ball for the visitors, and Washington Sundar applied the finishing touches in all departments to seal off a win in the Super Over in the third T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
The new era under Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir began with a 3-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka. India decided to change the winning combination and made four changes in the playing XI. Despite tottering with the bat, India relied on their high-risk, high-reward approach, and eventually, it paid off.
While chasing 138, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis stitched up an opening 58-run stand to set the tone of the game.
Ravi Bishnoi got the breakthrough in the ninth over, raising hopes for an unprecedented comeback. Bishnoi returned to remove Mendis (43) by trapping him in front of the stumps.
Washington Sundar removed Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka on back-to-back deliveries to turn the tides in India’s favour.
With nine runs needed off 12 balls, Suryakumar Yadav gambled on Rinku Singh, and he delivered when the situation demanded most.
In a single over, Rinku sent set-batter Kusal Perera (46) and then Ramesh Mendis (3) back to the dugout to bring the equation down to six runs in six balls.
Suryakumar took the ball in his hand and claimed two wickets in a row, bringing the equation down to three runs on the final ball. Chamindu Wickramasinghe picked up a double on the final ball to take the game to Super Over.
Washington Sundar weaved magic, gave away two runs, and removed Kusal Mendis and Nissanka to restrict Sri Lanka to two runs.
Surykuamar pulled off a sweep to find the fence to complete the whitewash over Sri Lanka in the T20Is.
After being put to bat by Sri Lanka, India got reduced to 35/4 at the end of the powerplay. Debutant Chamindu Wickramasinghe set the tone early in the game by finishing off his four overs in a single spell and removed Sanju Samson for a four-ball duck.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka announced their 16-player squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, which will kick off on Friday at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Kusal Mendis has been replaced as the skipper of the side by Charith Asalanka, who led Sri Lanka in the three T20Is as well.
In the T20I format, Sri Lanka’s star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was leading the side. However, he decided to step down from his position after their early exit from the T20 World Cup last month.
Sri Lanka enjoyed a good run in Mendis’ captaincy in the ODI format. The 29-year-old has been in good touch with the bat and guided Sri Lanka to five consecutive home match triumphs against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. However, they lost to Bangladesh by 2-1 in an away series.
Test batter Nishan Madushka, 24, has been included in the squad after his impressive performances in the red-ball format.
Sri Lanka pacer Dushmantha Chameera, who was ruled out of the T20I series due to bronchitis and respiratory infection, will also miss the three ODIs against India.
Along with Chameera, Nuwan Thushara will also miss the 50-over series after he fractured his thumb during training ahead of the beginning of the bilateral series against India.
