Pune. Captain Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Mendis hit half-centuries after a brilliant performance by the bowlers as Sri Lanka beat India by 16 runs in the second T20 International to level the three-match series 1-1 on Thursday. Chasing Sri Lanka’s mammoth target of 207, India got off to a horrendous start. Career-best innings from Akshar Patel (65 off 31 balls, six sixes, three fours) and his sixth wicket partnership of 91 runs with Suryakumar Yadav (51 off 36 balls, three fours, three sixes) helped the hosts Raised hopes of victory but ultimately could only score 190 runs for eight wickets.
Apart from these two, only Shivam Mavi (26 runs in 15 balls) could reach double digits. For Sri Lanka, Shanaka also did wonders in bowling, taking two wickets for four runs in the last over. Kasun Rajita (2/22) and Dilshan Madushanka (2/45) also claimed two wickets each. Earlier, Shanaka (56 not out in 22 balls, six sixes, two fours) and Mendis (52 runs in 31 balls, four sixes, three fours) scored 206 runs for six wickets. Shanaka shared an unbroken 68-run partnership with Chamika Karunaratne (11 not out) in four overs to take the team’s score past 200 runs. Mendis had earlier shared an 80-run partnership with Pathum Nasinka (33) for the first wicket in 8.2 overs.
Charit Aslanka also played a flamboyant inning of 37 runs in 19 balls with four sixes. Umran Malik was the most successful bowler for India, taking three wickets for 48 runs. Akshar took two wickets for 24 runs. Shivam Mavi scored 53 runs in four overs while Arshdeep Singh took 37 runs in two overs.
#INDvSL , Sri Lanka beat India by 16 runs in the second T20; The three-match series is currently level at 1-1.
(Axar Patel 65, Suryakumar Yadav 51) pic.twitter.com/SRhWT9Yd3Q
— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2023
There was a lack of discipline in the Indian bowling which was evident from the fact that the team bowled seven no balls and four wides. Chasing the target, India had a very poor start and the team lost four wickets for 34 runs in the fifth over. Kasun Rajita bowled Ishan Kishan (02) on the very first ball of the second over and then got second opener Shubman Gill (05) caught by Mahesh Teekshana on the last ball. Debutant Rahul Tripathi, after scoring five runs at his home ground, was caught by wicket-keeper Mendis off the bowling of Dilshan Madushanka.
Indian captain Hardik Pandya hit Karunaratne for the first six of the innings but was caught by the wicketkeeper in the same over. He scored 12 runs. The Indian team could only manage 39 runs for four wickets in the power play. Suryakumar took the team’s score to 50 runs in the eighth over with a four off Karunaratne but first T20 hero Deepak Hooda (09) caught Dhananjay D’Silva on the very first ball of Wanindu Hasaranga. Suryakumar and Akshar then decorated the Indian innings. Akshar hit Hasaranga for a six as soon as he came in but was lucky on the next ball when the wicketkeeper dropped his catch. Both Suryakumar and Akshar tried to increase the run rate with fours off Karunaratne. Akshar hit fours and sixes on consecutive balls of Teekshana. Both the batsmen targeted Hasaranga in the 14th over. In this over, Akshar hit three consecutive sixes while Suryakumar also hit a six, which scored 26 runs.
Akshar brought up his maiden half-century in just 20 balls with a six off Karunaratne, which is the joint-fastest fifty by an Indian against Sri Lanka. India needed 68 runs to win in the last five overs. Suryakumar also completed his half-century in 33 balls with a six over Madushanka. However, he was caught by Hasaranga at long on in the same over. Only eight runs were scored in the 17th over of the innings. Shivam Mavi kept India’s hopes alive by hitting Madushanka for two sixes and a four in three consecutive balls in the 18th over. India needed 33 runs in the last two overs. Only 12 runs were scored in Rajita’s 19th over.
India needed 21 runs in Shanaka’s final over but the Sri Lankan captain ensured Sri Lanka’s victory by sending Akshar to the pavilion on the third ball. Earlier, Pandya won the toss and invited Sri Lanka to bat first, after which Mendis and Nissanka got the team off to a brisk start. Arshdeep bowled three consecutive no balls in the second over in which Mendis collected 19 runs with a four and a six. Mendis also hit Pandya for a six in the next over and then welcomed the hero of the first match, Mavi, with two fours, one of which hit a no-ball. Sri Lanka scored 55 runs without losing a wicket in the power play.
Nissanka hit Akshar for a boundary while Mendis brought the left-arm spinner into the crowd. Mendis completed his half-century in just 27 balls with a six over Umran. Yuzvendra Chahal broke the partnership in the ninth over by lbw Mendis. The on-field umpire had given Mendis not out but had to change his decision after DRS was taken. Mendis hit three fours and four sixes while facing 31 balls. In the next over, Bhanuka Rajapakse (02) also returned to the pavilion after playing Umran’s ball on the wickets. With two wickets in hand, India put some curb on the run rate which paid off in the form of the wicket of Nissanka who caught Rahul Tripathi at the boundary while trying to play a big shot on Akshar.
read this also
He hit three fours in his 35-ball innings. Charit Aslanka took the team’s score past 100 runs in the 13th over with a six over Mavi, but in the next over, Dhananjay D’Silva (03) caught Deepak Hooda at long-on off Akshar’s ball. Aslanka tried to increase the run rate with two consecutive sixes on Chahal. He also hit Umran for a six but the same fast bowler’s ball was played in the hands of Shubman Gill at deep midwicket. He hit four sixes while facing 19 balls.
Shanaka hit Umran for two sixes and a four in the 18th over, including a no-ball six. Shanaka caught Suryakumar off Arshdeep in the next over but it too turned out to be a no-ball after which the Sri Lankan skipper hit a free hit for six. Shanaka completed his half-century in 21 balls with three sixes in the final over of Mavi’s innings. Sri Lanka added 93 runs in the last six overs. (agency)