(UTV | COLOMBO) – A disciplined performance from the bowlers was followed up by composed knocks from Shikhar Dhawan (86*) and Ishan Kishan (59) as the visitors notched up a comfortable victory in Colombo.
Winning the toss, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka opted to bat first. Openers Avishka Fernando (32) and Minod Bhanuka (27) got the hosts off to a steady start with a partnership of 49.
But this would set up a theme in the Sri Lankan innings as the batters would get a start but fail to convert into a meaningful contribution, leaving them stuttering. Bhanuka Rajapaksa (24), Dhananjaya de Silva (14), Charith Asalanka (38) and Dasun Shanaka (39) all got off to decent starts but eventually did not turn them into big scores. They found it difficult to counter the spin-twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal during the middle phase of the innings.
But some lusty blows by Chamika Karunaratne (43*) finally injected some fuel to the Lankan batting performance and they ended up posting a competitive total of 262/9 on the board. For India, it was a collective effort by the bowling unit with Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal all scalping two wickets each.
In reply, Prithvi Shaw got the visitors off to a sensational start, with some sublime strokeplay. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan played the anchor role from the other end, as Shaw stroked nine boundaries in his innings of 43.
Ishan Kishan then joined Dhawan on the crease and carried on from where Shaw left off, signalling the visitors’ intent to chase the target down quickly.
On his debut and celebrating his birthday, Kishan made a memorable impression, scoring 59 off only 42 deliveries. After his dismissal, the Sri Lankan players had a glimmer of hope but Manish Pandey stitched together a steady partnership with his captain. Dhawan brought up a well-composed half-century, as he set out to bat throughout the innings.
After Pandey’s dismissal on 26, Suryakumar Yadav along with Dhawan ensured that the visitors chased down the target with 80 deliveries remaining, to go 1-0 up in the series.
-ICC
