Sri Lanka bounces back in the second T20I to beat India by four wickets and level the series 1-1. It was a well-deserved win for the Lankans after a great bowling performance. India went into the game with four debutantes and seven changes in total. After covid-19 complications, they were left with just five specialist batsmen. This forced them to adopt a sedate approach with the bat.
Sri Lanka win the 2nd #SLvIND T20I by 4 wickets!
Three-match series levelled at 1-1.
Scorecard 👉https://t.co/Hsbf9yWCCh #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/ckDkl81GB8
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2021
A decent start for the top 3 batsmen
Sri Lanka asked India to bat first after winning the toss. It was the right decision on a slow track. The Indian openers started off watchfully, building a 49-run partnership before Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed. Another debutante Devdutt Padikkal looked at ease during his stay but India couldn’t really accelerate in the middle-overs. Shikhar Dhawan scored a 42-ball 40 while Padikkal went after making 29 runs off 23 balls.
Poor finish to the Indian innings
The next few batsmen who walked in had a torrid time. While Sanju Samson played a bland 13-ball 7, Nitish Rana was dismissed for 9 off 12 balls. Since India was already short on batsmen, the flourish in the death over never really came. Eventually, India huffed and puffed to a below-par total of 132/5 in their stipulated 20 overs. They scored just eight boundaries in total, which is their lowest in a T20I match where they played the full 20 overs.
Minod Bhanuka anchored the Lankan chase
Sri Lanka needed to win the second T20I against India to stay alive. The onus was on the openers to provide a good start. Although Avishka Fernando had a rare failure, Minod Bhanuka steadied the ship. He kept the Lankans afloat, scoring 36 off 31 balls before throwing his wicket away. The Indian spinners then proceeded to dominate the innings, before the 14th over bowled by Kuldeep went for 15 runs.
Dhananjaya de Silva & Chamika Karunaratne apply the finishing touches
The runs were never a problem in the chase. It was the wickets and Dhananjaya de Silva was joined by Chamika Karunaratne with Sri Lanka needing 28 runs in the last 16 balls. Karunaratne hit a humongous six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the penultimate over which put Lanka in the driving seat. Eight runs were needed in the last over bowled by Chetan Sakariya. Some sensible batting was on display which allowed Sri Lanka to scamper home.
Dhananjaya de Silva won the Player of the match award for his unbeaten 40* off 34 balls. 🔥#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/gS8AZbxqAE
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 28, 2021
They broke their four-match losing streak against India in T20I’s with the win in the second T20I. The series is now level at 1-1, with the deciding game to be played tomorrow.
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