Forced to involve four debutants and only five bats in XI because of the Covid case on their team, an Indian drained away to Sri Lanka with four goals in a low score but thrilling T20 internationally at the Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday night.
Lanka is thus managed to raise the T20i series with the final game of the upcoming series on Thursday.
Chasing 133, Sri Lanka needed 20 in the last two overs, but six of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s full throws by Chamika Karunaratne relieved their nerves, leaving them with eight to get the last.
With Dhanjaya de Silva (40 not out, 34b, 1×4, 1×6) Chase and Minod barrier Bhanka (36, 31b, 4×4) played useful hands before, Lankan people managed to run home.
Defending a small score with all their strengths and enthusiasm on a slow and slow field, the Indian bowler did well, with the Chinaman Bowler Kuldeep Yadav, which chose two goals, being the best of a group and ‘spinning mystery’ Varun Chakravarthy too looked good.
India received the formation of Avishka Fernando (11) in the third when Rahul Chahar arrested him brilliantly at the Limit of Fineleg off Bhuvneshwar, across the ball, before he reached it.
After that, the visitors took the goal regularly, but had too little to play.
Previously, India struggled to force the steps on the tone offered to turn to spinners, running to 132 for five in 20 overs.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan (40, 42b, 5×4) scored the top score for the team, because the three batsmen made their debut – Ruturaj Gaikwad (21 off 18 balls), Devdut Padikkal (29 off 3 balls) and nitish shutter (9 off 12 balls) – Failure to take a chance, even though Gaikwad and Padikkal did make an impressive start after Lanka chose the first bowl after winning a throw.
Coach Rahul Dravid will be disappointed with a bad sightsee for Sanju Samson.
Continuing his gloomy journey in international cricket, ‘the baton-bat was scratched for 13 balls for seven, before shipping Akila Dananjaya sneaked through the bat and pad and rolled into the stump after the Batsman descended to meet.
With a spinning ball like occasionally, he looks like a cat on a hot tin roof.
India went to the last five overs with eight goals at hand, placed at 94 for two people, but managed to collect only 38 running on this overs, lost three numbers.
Exploiting assistance from the goal, Sri Lankan spinner was on the ball, with Dananjaya (2-29 in four overs) into choice.
It was an extraordinary comeback by him, after he left for 40 in three overs without taking a goal in the previous match when Indian Batsmen chased him.
In a unique example, the host uses as many as eight Bowlers in the first nine over, keeping Indian Batsmen guess what will happen next.
Both Dhawan and Padikkal are closed while trying to execute slog sweep, to break the shackles.
Dhawan and Gaikwad gave India starting 49-run starting in seven overs, before the last heoped pull the short ball from the captain of the Shanaka Dasun to the guard.