Quick guide:
India v Sri Lanka – 2nd T20I
The 2nd T20I was played at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo between two struggling sides. India, after Krunal Pandya tested positive, were left with only 11 players in their main squad. As many as 9 players including Krunal were isolated from the team. Sri Lanka on the other hand were finding it hard to get that perfect XI in the middle throughout the series.
India had to make 7 forced changes with 4 players Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Chetan Sakariya making their T20I debut. Devdutt Padikkal became first 21st Century born to make T20I debut for India in Men’s team.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand continued with never putting an unchanged side throughout this tour. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Ramesh Mendis were two new additions with latter making his T20I debut.
Sri Lankan skipper won the toss and put depleted Indian batting lineup to test first.
Also read: India vs Sri Lanka – from a numerical perspective
Team:
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka(wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera.
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(wk), Nitish Rana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya, Varun Chakravarthy.
Match Summary
First Innings
It was expected that Indian team would play with conservative approach as they were stepping in with only 5 batters. On the contrary, Dhawan and Ruturaj started positively and scored 45 for no loss within powerplay. Indian skipper was looking settled and happy playing patience game with some odd boundaries. Debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad at times played some false shots but was busy rotating strike.
Sri Lankan skipper introduced himself after the powerplay and straightaway provided the breakthrough. The all-rounder picked Gaikwad with a banged-in slower delivery. Another debutant, Padikkal joined Dhawan in the middle.
With 2 left-handers, Shanaka introduced off-spinners from both the ends. India could only manage to add only 22 runs in next 4 overs. Pitch was turning square, and Sri Lanka made the most of it with their 4 spinners. Akila Dhananjaya bowled Shikhar Dhawan out in the first ball of his second spell.
Devdutt Padikkal played a very impressive knock during middle overs. He kept the score board ticking with his 23 ball 29 during a challenging phase of play. Hasaranga got the better of him in 16th over with a beauty turning back into the left-hander from over the wicket.
Rest of the Indian batters also didn’t have any answers for Lankan spinners. They could manage to score 132 for the loss of 5 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar provided a useful contribution with 11 ball 13. This was India’s fifth lowest T20i score while batting first and completing the quota of full 20 overs.
Second Innings
Sri Lanka’s free stroke maker, Avishka Fernando started the chase confidentiality as he scored 2 consecutive boundaries of Sakariya. He got out to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 3rd over while trying to flick him over square leg boundary. Rahul pulled off a brilliant catch there and with this, Bhuvi became 4 Indian to reach 50 T20i wickets.
There was nothing much for the fast bowlers in the pitch. Lankan’s batters continued targeting Sakariya as Bhanuka hit him for 2 boundaries in his second over. By the end of powerplay, Sri Lanka were 36 for loss of 1 wicket.
Varun Chakravarthy got Samarawickrama with a sharp googly in the first over after powerplay. Indian spinners were making a mark in the match. Kuldeep Yadav got Sri Lankan captain in 10th over who already survived against him as India missed on what could have been a successful referral.
Chinaman bowler followed it up with another wicket in his next over. He got well set Minod Bhanuka who was dropped earlier by Bhuvneshwar Kumar earlier in the same over.
Wanindu Hasaranga played some positive strokes before he got out while chasing a wide one of Rahul Chahar in 15th over. Sri Lanka needed 39 runs of last 30 balls with 5 wickets in hand. They were scoring just over run-a-ball before Kumar gave a juicy full toss which was punished for a 6 by Chamika Karunaratne.
Sri Lanka successfully chased the total after the game went in for a thrilling last over. The managed to draw the game in the last over with 2 balls remaining.
Sri Lanka won the match by 4 wickets and squared the 3-match series at 1-1.
Dhananjaya de Silva was awarded the Player of the Match for his economical spell and 34 ball 40 inning.
Indian batters punched over their weights. There were 3 debutants among the 5 batters in the lineup. They score managed to score 132 runs but later turned out to be just below par total. This was second time in the tour, that Sri Lanka managed to get over the line while chasing. They are a young and struggling team and close wins like these would help in there rebuilding cause.
Key Take-aways
- Adapting to the situation might be challenging but one has to do their best and not hold back. India’s adaptive approach after a setback in the team needs to be acknowledged. The other players in the squad gave their best despite the odds and it was a good blend of experience and new energy in the team.
- Sometimes, you have to step up and go harder as a unit. Instead of having few good performances in the team, having a team where everyone contributes their best individually works as a good thing. Sri Lanka in the last game had equal efforts being made in the field by every player making it difficult for the Indian team to settle in and push back the pressure.
- Sometimes you may have to step in when the situation is challenging. Stepping up to it and giving your best shot irrespective of the result adds in to your experience. It may demand you to step out of your comfort zone or challenge you to step up. Sakariya’s last over was just another challenge for him. It will only add to his experience of bowling in crunch situations.
~ Divyansh (Team Member, Beyond the Matches), Urvi Shah (Author)
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