A handy cameo by Chamika Karunaratne [12 off 6] and a matured unbeaten 34-ball 40 by Dhananjaya de Silva has helped Sri Lanka chase down 132 in the final over against India to enforce a decider in the three-match series.
Defending just 132, India needed early wickets and that is exactly what they got in the form of Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarwickrama in the first seven overs.
Fernando got off to a good start as he smashed Chetan Sakariya for a couple of boundaries in the second over but he soon perished in the following over courtesy of a brilliant catch by Rahul Chahar at the deep square-leg boundary.
Varun Chakravarthy then got into the act as he completely bamboozled Sadarawickrama with a googly, one that jagged back into him to knock over his stumps.
India could have had Dasun Shanaka in the very next over bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. Shanaka, in an attempt to sweep Kuldeep, ended up missing it completely.
The visitors went up immediately but the umpire thought that Shanaka had got a bit of bat on it as he did not signal leg-bye.
The Indians decided against taking the review and it proved to be a mistake as ball tracking showed that the ball would have knocked over the middle-stump.
However, the mistake didn’t cost India much as Kuldeep Yadav got his man in his next over after Shanaka was stumped while trying to hit the leg-spinner over his head.
Kuldeep chipped in with another wicket in the form of Minod Bhanuka [36 off 31], who failed to make the most of the reprieve that he had got earlier in the over, by holing out to Rahul Chahar at deep mid-on in the 12th over.
With the required run-rate creeping up, Sri Lanka needed a big over and they got that in the 14th over bowled by Kuldeep as Hasaranga and Dhananjaya smashed a four and six to pocket 15 runs.
Hasaranga smashed 15 off 10 balls to bring Sri Lanka back in a position of strength before Rahul Chahar dismissed him on the final ball of his spell in the 15th over.
Bhuvi and Chakravarthy [1/18 in 4 overs] gave just 9 runs in the next two overs and the equation eventually boiled down to 28 off the last 18 balls. Chetan Sakariya gave India another crucial breakthrough as Ramesh Mandis holed out at short mid-wicket in an attempt to hoike the left-arm pacer across the line.
However, Chamika Karunaratne’s handy cameo where he hit a six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over, eventually led to India’s undoing as the former and Dhananjaya de Silva took Sri Lanka past the finishing line in the last over.
India struggled their way to 5/132 in 20 overs
Batting first, Team India got off to a decent start as skipper Shikhar Dhawan and debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad racked up 45 runs in the powerplay.
However, with the pitch aiding spinners substantially, the Indian batters failed to break free post the fielding restrictions.
Gaikwad, who scored an 18-ball 21, was the first batter to perish after the right-hander got undone by the pace of Dasun Shanaka in the 7th over.
Shikhar Dhawan played some delightful strokes initially but he got stuck against the spinners big time.
The southpaw managed a painstaking 42-ball 40 before he eventually got knocked over by Akila Dananjaya while trying to up the scoring rate.
Devdutt Padikkal (29 off 23 balls) rotated the stroke brilliantly but just as he looked like breaking the shackles when he reverse-swept hit Wanindu Hasaranga for a six, he missed the conventional sweep and ended up seeing his stumps rattled.
The Sri Lankan spinners tightened their grip on the duo of Sanju Samson (7 off 13 balls) and Nitish Rana (9 off 12 balls) as both batters struggle big time on a sluggish surface.
Samson was bowled by Akila while Nitish Rana holed out to De Silva. Bhuvneshwar Kumar scored a crucial 11-ball 13* as India huffed and puffed their way to 5/132 after 20 overs.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Sri Lanka beat India, again. Sri Lanka > India. Minod Bhanuka scored 36 as a tribute to India's 36 all out in a Test inns. ?? #Cricket
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) July 28, 2021
It was a spirited defence but Sri Lanka got the big overs and Dhananjaya has played a very fine, controlled innings
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 28, 2021
Well fought, #TeamIndia ??
Not much in our control before the game, but kudos to our bowlers to have made a match out of this ??
We'll be back tomorrow as ?? try to take the series win ?#SLvIND
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) July 28, 2021
Sri Lanka have a great chance of qualifying for the Super 12’s stage of the @T20WorldCup A big win for them today, clearly means a lot to them ?? #SLvIND ?????
— Nikesh Rughani (@NikeshRughani) July 28, 2021
Appreciation tweet to Chamika Karunaratne, He does everything with a full heart, Got the most important runs today as well.
Winning is about getting small edges over the opposition and Chamika has done it again for us. ❤️??#SLvIND #INDvSL
— Gihan Wickramathilake ?? (@gihaanw) July 28, 2021
Despite the loss, we can still be proud of the fighting spirit Indian team showed today. They almost defended a small target. #SLvsIND
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) July 28, 2021
.@Sakariya55 picks up his first wicket on T20I debut! ? ? #SLvIND
Sri Lanka lose their 6th wicket.
Follow the match ? https://t.co/Hsbf9yWCCh pic.twitter.com/unu6csMqtF
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2021
Hasaranga while walking back to pavillion pic.twitter.com/dYPRJj6o5c
— Siddharth (@breakingbadass) July 28, 2021
Hasaranga's reaction to that send off was amazing.
— Manya (@CSKian716) July 28, 2021
Hasaranga full on Gandhigiri after he appreciated Chahar sledging him for that wicket.
— Udit (@udit_buch) July 28, 2021
No review for this one ?
Opportunity missed?#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/DiH7QBOE0G
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) July 28, 2021
Maybe Kuldeep could have been given more confidence and opportunities by the Indian (Main) Team Management. A spinner needs the backing to bring the best out of his skill @imkuldeep18 #IndvsSL
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 28, 2021
Number of people surprised by Sakariya taking the new ball over Saini – 1. Sanjay Manjrekar.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) July 28, 2021
Most balls faced by an Indian while scoring at under run-a-ball in first innings:-
42 – Shikhar Dhawan v SL, today
42 – Shikhar Dhawan v BAN, 2019
37 – MS Dhoni v AUS, 2019
30 – MS Dhoni v NZ, 2009
30 – Irfan Pathan v AUS, 2008#SLvIND— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) July 28, 2021
Make this ground CSK's homeground in IPL. #SLvIND
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) July 28, 2021
In 2017, when Sanath Jayasuriya picked Wanindu Hasaranga straight out of school, he claimed a hat-trick on debut. Four years on, he’s gone onto become the number two ranked bowler in T20 cricket. Sanath saw something special despite little domestic credentials.
— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) July 28, 2021
This track isn't even sluggish. It is comatose. You will hardly ever see a ball more reluctant to reach the batsman.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 28, 2021
Samson can run coaching classes on how to throw away golden opportunities. One more game tomorrow, else see you later.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) July 28, 2021
Hopefully, this is the last time we see Samson in Indian colors. Doesn't belong to this level.
— Yash ?? (@im_yash2307) July 28, 2021
Nitish Rana is an anomaly among left-handers. Across his IPL career, against spinners that turn the ball into him (leg-spin & left-arm orthodox), he averages 30 and strikes at 136.
In comparison, against off-spin & left-arm wrist spin, he averages 46, scoring at 158.#SLvIND— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 28, 2021
Dhawan scored 40 off 42 deliveries. So we are two T20 batsman short. #SLvIND
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) July 28, 2021
Man of the match for srilanka – Dhawan
— Cricfam (@cricfam) July 28, 2021
December 2018 – Gets picked by RCB
November 2019 – Makes his T20 debut
September 2020 – Makes his IPL debut
July 2021 – Makes his T20I debutIt's been an incredible journey for Devdutt Padikkal ?#SLvsIND pic.twitter.com/dARSfQZsjT
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) July 28, 2021
Slow track, won't be easy to chase, especially since there hasn't been any dew. Seems a good bat first game
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 28, 2021
Ruturaj Gaikwad gets out scoring 21. He falls 1 run short of scoring the highest runs by an Indian debutant against Sri Lanka in men's T20Is. Surprisingly the record is held hy Ashish Nehra (22 at Nagpur, 2009).#SLvIND
— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) July 28, 2021
Be always ready for your chances to grab. You never know when you get that! Four debutantes from Team India just experienced that. Best wishes to all the four youngsters. #IndvsSL
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) July 28, 2021
Sri Lanka have used eight bowlers in nine overs.
— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) July 28, 2021
Despite this being a third choice team, India XI is still significantly more experienced in the T20 format than Sri Lanka XI.
Avg T20 experience
India XI: 103
Sri Lanka XI: 68#SLvIND— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) July 28, 2021
Shikhar Dhawan bringing 11 players on the ground pic.twitter.com/dOToIj7JdC
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) July 28, 2021
The best and most stylish batting talent from India on display today making his debut . Would love to see his performance in Indian colors
Would also love to see DDP too#INDvSL
— AD (@cricadharsh) July 28, 2021
2021 surely got to be the year where so many Indian players have been handed their maiden cap.
Tests- Washi, Natarajan, Axar
ODIs- Krunal, Ishan, Sky, Nitish, Gowtham, Chetan, Chahar
T20Is- Shaw, Sky, Ishan, Ruturaj, Devdutt, Chetan, Varun, NitishHave I missed someone?
— Yash ?? (@im_yash2307) July 28, 2021
Our tail this match. Be scared Lanka, you've been burned before ? #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/55mrNMLceL
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 28, 2021
Indian cricketers born in the 21st century:
Jemimah Rodrigues
Shafali Verma
Devdutt Padikkal— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) July 28, 2021
Devdutt Padikkal becomes the first Indian player to play for the men's side who's born in the 2000s.#Padikkal #SLvIND
— India Fantasy (@india_fantasy) July 28, 2021
What an occasion! Everyone available will play! Never was the adage truer that if you are good enough to be in the squad you are good enough to be in the XI
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 28, 2021