Despite a late charge by Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne with the bat, Sri Lanka suffered a narrow, 2-run loss in the 1st T20I against India at the Wankhede in Mumbai.
With dew expected to play a part in the game, it was almost a no-brainer for the captain winning the toss to chase and Dasun Shanaka accordingly put the hosts in.
Despite much speculation ahead of the game, Sri Lanka opted for the same batting line-up that featured in the T20 World Cup back in October/November, with the iffy middle order of Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shanaka given another opportunity to fire.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be once again as wickets fell at regular intervals, with only skipper Shanaka really threatening to take the game away from the hosts before falling to Umran Malik.
Shanaka was striking the ball well and brought Sri Lanka within striking distance of the Indian total but a stoppage in play when a caught behind was reviewed saw his concentration disrupted as he mistimed one to extra cover off the next delivery. The Sri Lankan skipper has had a dream run versus India in the recent past, his last 4 innings bringing him 199 runs in 102 deliveries.
Shanaka’s dismissal seemed to signal the end of Sri Lanka’s fight, but Karunaratne kept Sri Lanka’s hopes alive, dragging the tail along with him. With 13 required off the last over, Sri Lanka were still very much in the game, but despite hitting a six off the 3rd delivery of the over, the two deliveries that Karunaratne left, in the hope of them being called wides, ultimately cost Sri Lanka.
Debutant Shivam Mavi had a dream entry into international cricket, picking up 4 for 22.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka were brilliant with the ball, especially the spinners, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Dhananjaya de Silva, who collectively picked up 3 wickets for 57 runs in 9 overs.
A frantic 68-run partnership for the 6th wicket between Player of the Match Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel, helped India post 162 after Sri Lanka reduced them to 94/5 in 14.1 overs, which ultimately proved to be just beyond Sri Lanka’s reach.
The teams will now move to Pune for the 2nd T20I on the 5th of January.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ishan Kishan | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Wanidu Hasaranga | 37 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 127.59 |
| Shubman Gill | lbw b Maheesh Theekshana | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140.00 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | c Bhanuka Rajapaksa b Chamika Karunaratne | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 70.00 |
| Sanju Samson | c Dilshan Madushanka b Dhananjaya de Silva | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Hardik Pandya | c Kusal Mendis b Dilshan Madushanka | 29 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 107.41 |
| Deepak Hooda | not out | 41 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 178.26 |
| Axar Patel | not out | 31 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 155.00 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 162/5 (20 Overs, RR: 8.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 4 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 11.75 | |
| Dilshan Madushanka | 4 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 8.75 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 7.25 | |
| Chamika Karunaratne | 3 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 7.33 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Shivam Mavi | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Sanju Samson b Harshal Patel | 28 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 112.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Sanju Samson b Shivam Mavi | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 133.33 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Ishan Kishan b Umran Malik | 12 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 80.00 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | c Hardik Pandya b Harshal Patel | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 90.91 |
| Dasun Shanaka | c Yuzvendra Chahal b Umran Malik | 45 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 166.67 |
| Wanidu Hasaranga | c Hardik Pandya b Shivam Mavi | 21 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 210.00 |
| Chamika Karunaratne | not out | 23 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 143.75 |
| Maheesh Theekshana | c Suryakumar Yadav b Shivam Mavi | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Kasun Rajitha | run out (Deepak Hooda ) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 125.00 |
| Dilshan Madushanka | run out (Deepak Hooda ) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 6 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 160/10 (20 Overs, RR: 8) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardik Pandya | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Shivam Mavi | 4 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 5.50 | |
| Umran Malik | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 6.75 | |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 13.00 | |
| Harshal Patel | 4 | 0 | 41 | 2 | 10.25 | |
| Axar Patel | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 10.33 | |
