Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 51-ball 112 and all-around bowling performance gave India their 25th straight home victory over Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar Yadav captivated a sold-out crowd at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium to record a magical unbeaten 112 in his crucial T20I at Rajkot, India and Sri Lanka on Saturday for the third time.
Suryakumar’s strong masterclass led India to a comfortable 91 round victory. India won the series with his 2-1 win.
The long wait continues for Sri Lanka, who have been eagerly awaiting their first consecutive bilateral victory in India. The Rankers have appeared in 25 interactive series across the country’s formats without success.
The visitor’s desire to make history was dashed by Thrykumar’s unstoppable power. Mumbai’s batsmen glued deliveries to every piece of the floor, leading India to a 5-to-228 mammoth.
Suryakumar made this shot his own, starting with his six pivot his pull deep into his square over his leg. He later created some max out of thin air – navigating well outside the stumps and slamming the ball into his thin legs. His shuffle was so great that he tripped and rolled to the ground.
He also spared spinners Mahesh Theksana and Wanindu Hasaranga. With the cover fielders in the circle, Suryakumar targeted the area by stepping out and lofting the drive.
He singled to deep cover in 19 overs for his third T20I 100 in 45 balls. His 6-over extra cover for the flatbatter and a flick 4 in the final over, bowled by Karunaratne, Suryakumar was the icing on his cake. The panicked Sri Lankans made the mistake of not trying slow balls and bouncers. Playing his T20I for the second time, his one-drop Rahul Tripathi sparked with his enterprising 16-ball 35. With a number of straight 6s ahead of Karunaratne, it was a glimpse of the talent Tripathi brings to the table.
Shubman Gill (46, 36b, 2×4, 3×6) kept Suryakumar company in his third wicket stand of 111 runs. Shabman did not take a chance to extend the delivery only when the bowlers were too high. Axar Patel provided an unbeaten 9-ball 21 for the late fireworks. India’s innings stayed true to his T20 winning mantra in modern times – attacking relentlessly from start to finish.
Sri Lanka’s chase was derailed by top-class sluggers Pathum Nissanka, Ksar He Mendis, Abishka He Fernando fell within eight shots of him. From 53 to 3 in 6.1 overs, Sri Lanka had a mountain to climb. With a request rate of 12 and a surge, the middle and lower tiers collapsed in an attempt to pick up the pace. Left-arm speedster Arshdeep Singh, who threw five no-balls in the previous matchup, fell short in 2.4 overs. He was the top bowler with 3 RBIs in 20 at bats.
Express Umran Malik (2/31) finished as the best wicket taker of the series with seven scalps.