Rare scenes! Kamindu Mendis bowls with both hands against Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant

Team India and Sri Lanka are currently playing against each other in the first game of the ongoing three-match T20I series. The game is being played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and opted to bowl first. The hosts, however, could not justify the decision to bowl first as their bowlers failed to give their team a good start. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a flying start, sharing a fifty-plus stand for the first wicket before a stunning catch from Asitha Fernando gave Sri Lanka the first breakthrough.

Apart from the Indian openers' aggressive batting and Fernando's brilliant catch, what has caught everyone's attention is Kamindu Mendis' bowling. The 25-year-old, who made his debut in international cricket in 2018, played his first-ever game against India in any format and made sure to make his presence felt by showing his ambidextrous ability.

He was introduced into the attack for the tenth over and he started his spell by bowling with his left arm against Suryakumar Yadav. The India captain welcomed Kamindu Mendis into the attack with a four on the very first ball before taking a single on the second ball to give Rishabh Pant the strike.

And as soon as the left-handed India wicketkeeper-batsman took the strike, Kamindu Mendis decided to bowl an off-break with his right arm. While Mendis could not pick up any wicket in his first over, he did not concede any boundary either after being hit for a four on the first ball.

Kamindu Mendis bowling left arm to Suryakumar Yadav and right arm to Rishabh Pant. 😄👌 pic.twitter.com/ZBBvEbfQpS

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 27, 2024

India in driver's seat:

Talking about the game, India are on the front foot in the ongoing game. At the time of writing this report, they were on 159 for 3 after 15 overs. Gill and Jaiswal gave the team a solid start by adding 74 runs for the first wicket. The partnership came to an end on the last ball of the powerplay when Gill was dismissed for 34.

On the very next delivery, Wanindu Hasaranga struck to send back Jaiswal for 40. However, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored a blazing fifty to put India back in the driver's seat again. He departed after scoring 58 runs from just 26 balls.