Sri Lanka defeated India by 16 runs in the 2nd T20 international played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. Dasun Shanaka put up a brilliant all-round performance to hand Sri Lanka a much-needed win and keep the series alive. Sri Lanka was put under a little bit of pressure because of a quickfire 91-run stand between Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel. However, just like India in the 1st T20I, the Lankan bowlers kept a hold on their nerves to hand their team a victory and a point.
Opting to bowl first, India started poorly with 19 runs coming from the 2nd over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. The Lankan batters got the momentum from there and started playing their shots more freely. Kusal Mendis was the one who started the proceedings with a blistering 31-ball 52-run knock. Although Sri Lanka had a mini collapse courtesy of Umran Malik, Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne plundered 70+ runs from the last 5 overs to post 206 on the board.
The chase started poorly for India as the disciplined Lankan bowlers reduced them to 57 for 5 in the 10th over. The chase looked done and dusted at the moment until SKY and Axar joined hands in the middle. After Suryakumar was dismissed, Axar tried his best to do the unthinkable. He also found a perfect ally in Shivam Mavi who plundered 16 runs from the 18th over. However, the constant pressure of keeping up with the run rate led to Axar’s dismissal in the final over and India lost the match by 16 runs. This is Sri Lanka’s first victory in T20Is against India in India after 13 losses.
Dasun Shanaka, for his all-round performance, was adjudged the player of the match. The final match of the T20I series between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on 07th January.
