India faced a horrible defeat against Sri Lanka in the third T20I game at R.Premadasa stadium. For the first time in the series Sri Lanka dominated the match. Previously Sri Lanka won few games but they didn’t win one-sided marches. With the help of Sri Lanka’s all-round performance, Dasun Shanaka led side managed to get a T20I series victory by 2-1.
Indian batters performed horribly in the match posting the poor score of 81 runs in their 20 overs. Captain Shikhar Dhawan and Sanju Samson got out on duck. Meanwhile, the three new recruits Devdutt Paddikal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Nitish looked completely out of form. Padikkal scored 9 runs off 15 balls, Ruturaj scored 14 off 10 and Rana scored 6 of 15.
Kuldeep Yadav was the highest run-scorer for the team with 23 runs in name and Bhuvneshwar Kumar contributed 16 runs off 32 deliveries.
Wanindu Hasaranga celebrates his 24th birthday with a spectacular spellhttps://t.co/JeJLzJQ8Tj | #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/hiFnMBF1Rh
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 29, 2021
Every bowler from Sri Lankan Side performed exceptionally. However the number two ranked T20I bowler Wanindu Hasaranga outshined other bowlers. Hasaranga managed to pick a 4 wicket haul by giving only 9 runs in his 4 overs spell.
While chasing the small target Sri Lanka’s top order was destroyed by Rahul Chahar. The Mumbai Indians leg spinner managed to get 3 wickets by giving 15 runs in his 4 overs spell. However, the target was so small that a small contribution by openers Fernando (12) and Bhanuka (18) was more than enough for the team.
In the end, Dhananjaya de Silva (23) Wanindu Hasaranga (14 ) led Sri Lanka towards victory. Sri Lanka comfortably won the match by 7 wickets and 33 balls remaining.
What a brilliant VICTORY! 🎉️
🇱🇰 seal the T20I series 2️⃣-1️⃣ 👊#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/jkdWNpgtzJ
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 29, 2021
Here is what Shikhar Dhawan, Dasun Shanka, and Wanindu Hasaranga said in the post-match presentation:
Shikhar Dhawan: It was a difficult situation for us. As a team we decided to stay and play these games. Really proud of the boys as well. They showed great character in the last two games. Their attitude was tremendous. We wanted to win as well, in every game you learn. It was an off-day for our batting unit. We lost too many wickets, SL bowled well. When you lose early wickets, you get a lot of pressure, glad that we got to the 80s, that’s all we managed today.
Both teams played in great spirit. It’s beautiful that we were competitive in the field and respect was there. The Sri Lankan boys wanted to know what’s my process, I was just sharing my experience. I hope they enjoyed listening to it. And, congratulations to the Sri Lankan team.
Dasun Shanaka: I should thank BCCI, under these circumstances they agreed to play. Special thanks to Rahul Dravid and Shikhar Dhawan. This is the best performance we have had in the last few years. I had the (bowling) options with me and used them in the middle. (On fielding) Not only myself, all the boys are working really hard. In the last three months starting from the Bangladesh series, they were keen to win and they want to be world class.
The way Chameera started, the way Wanindu performed throughout, how Akila performed, how calm DDS was, and I should mention Karunaratne .. he is a gem to Sri Lankan cricket. All the boys did right job. They handled the situation well and used their brains very well. I am lucky to lead this team. When a low score is set, it’s good if you get a more positive start. But they are young and learning, they’ll be better in the future.
Wanindu Hasaranga: Wicket was slow, our spinners bowled really well. When I bowl, I always try to bowl dot balls, that’s why I pick wickets. Dasun was brilliant in the field. I am really happy because our boys did very well throughout the series.
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