Sunday 08 / September / 2024
Pallekele: India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh turned out to be the unlikely heroes with the ball for the visitors, and Washington Sundar applied the finishing touches in all departments to seal off a win in the Super Over in the third T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
The new era under Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir began with a 3-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka. India decided to change the winning combination and made four changes in the playing XI. Despite tottering with the bat, India relied on their high-risk, high-reward approach, and eventually, it paid off.
While chasing 138, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis stitched up an opening 58-run stand to set the tone of the game.
Ravi Bishnoi got the breakthrough in the ninth over, raising hopes for an unprecedented comeback. Bishnoi returned to remove Mendis (43) by trapping him in front of the stumps.
Washington Sundar removed Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka on back-to-back deliveries to turn the tides in India's favour.
With nine runs needed off 12 balls, Suryakumar Yadav gambled on Rinku Singh, and he delivered when the situation demanded most.
In a single over, Rinku sent set-batter Kusal Perera (46) and then Ramesh Mendis (3) back to the dugout to bring the equation down to six runs in six balls.
Suryakumar took the ball in his hand and claimed two wickets in a row, bringing the equation down to three runs on the final ball. Chamindu Wickramasinghe picked up a double on the final ball to take the game to Super Over.
Washington Sundar weaved magic, gave away two runs, and removed Kusal Mendis and Nissanka to restrict Sri Lanka to two runs.
Surykuamar pulled off a sweep to find the fence to complete the whitewash over Sri Lanka in the T20Is.
After being put to bat by Sri Lanka, India got reduced to 35/4 at the end of the powerplay. Debutant Chamindu Wickramasinghe set the tone early in the game by finishing off his four overs in a single spell and removed Sanju Samson for a four-ball duck.
Before Samson's dismissal, Yashasvi Jaiswal was pinned in front of the stumps by Maheesh Theekshana.
Rinku Singh (1) became Theekshana's next victim, and India captain Suryakumar Yadav perished while playing his favourite shot off Asitha Fernando.
Matheesha Pathirana left the field at the end of the seventh over, holding his right shoulder after producing a diving stop. After that, he returned to the field but didn't bowl throughout the innings.
Shivam Dube returned to the dressing room without making much of an impact. Shubman Gill and Riyan Parag forged a 50-run partnership to stabilise India's sinking ship.
Wanindu Hasaranga was introduced into the attack, and he singlehandedly derailed India's innings in a single over.
He removed Gill (39) and Parag (26) in a single over to put India under pressure. Washington Sundar (25) came in and played a short cameo to propel India's score to 137/9.
Brief Score: India 137/9 (Shubman Gill 39, Riyan Parag 26; Maheesh Theekshana 3-28) vs Sri Lanka 137/8 (Kusal Perera 46, Kusal Mendis 43; Rinku Singh 2-3, Suryakumar Yadav 2-5).
