Nidahas Trophy 2018: Sri Lanka vs India, 1st T20I: Five Game-Changing Moments

The tournament opener of the Nidahas Trophy saw India and hosts Sri Lanka lock horns against each other at Premadasa Stadium. It was the home team who came out triumphant with a five-wicket win, backed by the two Perera’s in the side.

India posted a competitive total of 174, powered by the knock of Shikhar Dhawan. However, it turned out to be insufficient as Sri Lanka chased down the total, with an over remaining.

Let us look at the five game-changing moments of the match

1. Rohit-Raina failure

The Indian innings started off on the wrong foot with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina upfront. Indian skipper lost his wicket in the very first over without opening his account.

Suresh Raina soon followed his skipper by adding just one to the total. Both batsmen lost their wicket in order to maximise the powerplay overs.

India was reduced to 9 for the loss of two wickets in the first couple of powerplay overs. The men in blue, immediately, were on the backfoot.

2. Shikhar Dhawan’s knock

Dhawan carried on his majestic form from the South African tour with his splendid knock of 90 in just 49 balls. The southpaw struck the ball at a rate of 183.6. His knock consisted of six boundaries and the same number of maximums.

He first stitched a priceless 95 run partnership with Manish Pandey who scored a decent 33-ball 37. The opener then did all the damage during the later stages of the innings. His knock enabled India to reach a competitive total after a loose start.

3. Rishabh Pant’s struggle

Indians laid their hopes on young Rishabh Pant for the final flourish. However, the wicket-keeper batsman managed to strike at only a run-a-ball for his 23.

Pant struggled to time the ball as well as find the gaps at the death. The onus was on the Delhi star, especially with the dismissal of Dhawan.

India managed to score only 36 from overs 15-19. Had it not been the 14 runs final over, India would have been short of at least 30 runs.

4. Kusal Perera targeted Shardul Thakur

One of the most talented batsmen produced by Sri Lanka off-late, announced his comeback during one of the T20I at Indore last year. He continued his sublime form as Shardul Thakur faced the wrath of the Lankan’s bat.

The explosive batsman took Thakur apart in his very first over of his spell. The third over of the Sri Lankan reply went for a whopping 27 runs, which had five boundaries and a six.

That one-over took the entire pressure off the hosts and put India under the pump.

5. The day of Perera’s

Just when one thought, the Indian bowlers clawed on their way into the match, Thissara Perera smashed a finishing knock of 22 off just 10 balls.

Kusal Perera earlier lit up the Colombo atmosphere with his brilliant knock of 66 which came off just 37 balls. Sri Lanka ended up on the winning side with the help of the two Perera’s in the side.