India registered their biggest wins in T20I cricket by decimating Sri Lanka in the first T20I played at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on Wednesday. It was a dominating performance by team India who outplayed Sri Lanka.
India was invited into bat. KL Rahul who made a comeback in the squad scored 61 runs. The openers gave the team a solid start adding 38 runs. Shreyas Iyer also played well with 24 runs. India struggled in middle overs. From the 16th over, MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey scored 61 runs which helped team India post 180 runs. The former Indian captain came at number 4, took time and then showed his value to the team. Dhoni remained not out on 39 off 22 balls while Manish Pandey scored a quickfire 32 off 18 balls.
While bowling, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav were the picks of bowlers. Chahal took 4 wickets for 23 runs while Kuldeep took 2. Jaydev Unadkat also got an early breakthrough. Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets.
Sri Lanka gave away 50 runs in the first six overs. In the middle overs, they did not give many runs. In the last 4 four overs, the bowling was not up to the mark which let the match slip away. While batting, Tharanga was top scorer with 23 runs. The other batsmen could contribute much and be bowled out for 87 runs.
Both teams will face other in the second T20I at Holkar Stadium, Indore. The Indian team might remain the same. They might think of bringing Basil Thampi or Mohammad Siraj replacing Undakat.
For Sri Lanka, it is about playing the Indian spinners well. The senior players must rise to the occasion and play with positive intent. Despite, Virat Kohli not being there, 1999 World Cup champions are struggling to play well as a unit.
Probable India XI: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Basil Thampi/Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav
Probable Sri Lanka XI: Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Mathews, Gunarante, Thisara Perera (C), Chaturanga de Silva, Akila Danajaya, Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando.
