Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Munaweera plays a shot against India during a T20 match in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday. PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist (PTI9_6_2017_000220A)
After winning the toss Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl first in the only T20 at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. While it seemed at first that the decision might backfire with Sri Lanka getting off to a flying start, it was once again the same story of the hosts losing wickets at regular intervals and hurting their progress.
After skipper Upul Tharanga was dismissed early, it was Dilshan Munaweera who took the attack to the bowlers. He took a special liking towards Yuzvendra Chahal whom he hit for two sixes in one over. As long as he was at the crease it seemed like the Lankans were on course for a score above 190. Munaweera also brought up his fifty of just 22 deliveries. However, he was outfoxed by Kuldeep Yadav and finally dismissed for 53 of just 23 balls.
It was from here on that Sri Lanka lost their way and lost three wickets in the span of 35 runs. However, a late surge towards the end of the innings by Ashan Priyanjan (40*) and Isuru Udana (19) saw the hosts post a competitive total of 170.
For India, the spin twins comprising of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were the pick of the bowlers as they picked up five wickets amongst them. While Chahal was a bit expensive Yadav kept things tight and picked up crucial wickets in the middle of the innings to peg back the opposition. If the hosts can pick up a few wickets in the beginning then the contest will turn out to be an interesting.
SQUADS:
Sri Lanka Squad
Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Upul Tharanga (c), Dilshan Munaweera, Ashan Priyanjan, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Suranga Lakmal, Vikum Sanjaya, Wanidu Hasaranga, Milinda Siriwardana
India Squad
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya
