Sri Lanka claimed a 16-round win at the second T20I in Pune on Thursday (5 December), ending their first streak of T20Is in India since February 2016 and extending their third straight victory. . Dasun Shanaka’s half-century record (56* out of 22) and Kusal Mendis’ just his 50 (52 out of 31) set an impressive total of 206/6 for Sri Lanka. India lost half their team in 10 overs and he had only 50 overs on the board. Axar Patel (65/31) and Suryakumar Yadav (51/36) fought back after an aggressive half-century, but in the end Sri Lanka won and the skipper scored two wickets in the final to give him a great game. Outperformed.
More on Shanaka’s Lightning… Arriving at the end of the circle with 110/4 in trouble with Sri Lanka, Shanaka trailed him by a maximum ahead of Umran Malik with Challis Atalanka hitting a 6 for 2 in front of Yuzvendra Chahal from the other side. However, Malik’s 16 overs ended with wickets from Athalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga, leaving Sri Lanka with his six. At 147/6 after 17 overs, anything close to 170-180 was a competitive total.But Shanaka had other thoughts. He picked up an attack on Malik, slamming him to the ground and knocking out his 4, overcoming a 6 with a nice leg, and slicing a 1 over cover for a max. Arshdeep Singh played an impressive game, conceding five no-balls in the two overs he bowled, losing 6 and 4 to Shanaka in 19 overs. Shivam Mavi was dismissed for 3 6 by the Sri Lankan captain in the final and the visitors left India with a difficult task past his 200 mark.
How did Sri Lanka begin?
Pretty good. After being called to bat, they rode on Kusal Mendis’s 31-ball 52 to put pressure on the Indian bowlers in the first half of the innings. Hardik Pandya had a decent opening, but Arshdeep settled for 19, including 4 and 6 for Mendis. Batsmen also had attacks on Pandya and Mavi as Sri Lanka raced to 47 in four overs. India managed to put the brakes on with a spinner as Sri Lanka made a power play and he finished 55/0. However, Axar Patel lost to his Mendis by 6 and Malik also conceded his 6. That’s when Mendis gave Sri Lanka a great platform with his 27-ball 50.
Did India have a moment with the ball?
Yes they did. Chahal ended Mendis’ stint in front while India used DRS to reverse an on-field decision not to retire. Malik dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa for trying to direct a quick delivery to a third man, but she hacked the stumps.Sri Lanka midway through the innings as Axar dismissed wickets from Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva. and Shanaka lifted them to a sufficient total. What is India’s reaction to bats?
It was a hard time for India as they lost many wickets on power plays. Ishan Kishan, who was aiming for a lineover, was balled out by Rajitha in the second over. Shubman Gill also busted on the same over, handing a catch to Mid-On to pull in a delivery that wasn’t short enough. Hitting the bull’s eye with a stunning boarder, debutant Rahul Tripathi attempted a rebound from Dilshan Madhushanka but caught up with the keeper. Pandya was sacked by Chamika Karunaratne shortly after hitting 6 as India fell to 34/4 in 5 overs and finished with only 39 on a power play and at odds of 12 required. Hasaranga took charge of Deepak Hooda’s wicket as India struggled 65/5, with odds over 14 at the end of the tenth.
Counterattack partnership gives India hope
Axar had several good luck charms, and keeper Mendis both made mistakes. He caught and threw wide to the bowler and Axar ran narrow and wide to the non-forward end. Axar also kept the limit and overcame the fence several times, but the required rate kept increasing until he finally crossed 15. But Axar struck back in a half-century partnership that spanned 25 deliveries, scoring the majority of the runs, with Hasaranga’s left-handed hitter hitting a 6 hat-trick in a peak of 14 innings. Suryakumar also collected six in the same over and scored 26 runs. Suryakumar in 15 overs he hit 6 against Karunaratne and Axar also he hit 20 ball 50 and in the end he leveled the equation to 68 from 5 overs.
Shanaka helps Sri Lanka assert itself
Suryakumar hit 33-ball 50 on a 6-ball shot from Madhushanka in 16 overs. However, a partnership worth 91 ended in the same over when Suryakumar misjudged a shot. Falling to 50 from three overs, bowling the 18th, Madushanka allowed just one out of his three balls in the first. However, Mavi struck out 6, 4, 6 from the final three, India managed 12 and Rajitha finished with an excellent 22-2. It took him 21 to get the hosts out of his overs in the final, and Shanaka threw the overs himself, sacking the wickets of Axar and Mavi, just allowing him four runs and shining in an all-around performance.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 206/6 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 56, Kusal Mendis 52; Umran Malik 3-48) beat India 190/8 in 20 overs (Axar Patel 65, Suryakumar Yadav 51; Dasun Shanaka 2-4) by 16 runs.