Pallekele, July 27 2024-
Captain Suryakumar Yadav smashed his 20th T20I half-century, while Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal hit attacking 40s as they propelled India to a massive 213/7 against Sri Lanka in the T20I series opener at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here on Saturday.
On a fresh pitch, Jaiswal tore into the bowlers in Power-play with a 21-ball 40, while sharing a 74-run opening stand with Shubman Gill. Suryakumar built on the stunning start by hitting 58 off 26 balls in his first innings as full-time T20I captain.
Pant struggled to get going initially, but managed to accelerate at the end to make 49 off 33 balls. For Sri Lanka, pacer Matheesha Pathirana got his yorkers and slower balls spot on to take 4-40, as the hosts managed to keep India below 220.
India’s boundary-hitting show began from the opening over when Jaiswal pulled Dilshan Madushanka for four before Gill capitalized on width by cutting the left-arm pacer twice for consecutive fours.
There was no stopping a ruthless Jaiswal -– picking two fours off Asitha Fernando, before lofting and sweeping Maheesh Theekshana for six and four respectively, followed by surviving an lbw appeal off the spinner.
Gill used Fernando’s pace by dabbing him through off-side for four, before rolling his wrists to get a pulled boundary, followed by Jaiswal bringing up India’s fifty by nailing a pull over deep mid-wicket for six.
The crowd continued to be silent as Gill lofted and whipped Madushanka for consecutive fours, before pulling him for six. But the local spectators found their voice as the Indian openers fell on consecutive deliveries.
Gill was foxed by a slower ball while trying to go down the ground and was caught by mid-on, while Jaiswal was stumped off a vicious googly by Wanindu Hasaranga. With Hasaranga making the ball talk, it meant Pant struggled to get going. He got a life when he was dropped in the 13th over, which was masked by Suryakumar’s brilliance.
Suryakumar was blazing from the word go – playing a trademark pick-up shot off Madushanka for six, followed by lapping and pulling the pacer for consecutive fours. He greeted Kamindu Mendis with an inside-out loft over cover for four, before sweeping Hasaranga twice for boundaries.
Suryakumar whipped Pathirana for six, before getting his fifty in 22 balls by whipping Theekshana for four, bisecting deep mid-wicket and wide long-on to perfection. He then played a straight drive off Pathirana for four and brought up India’s 150 in the 14th over, before being beaten for sheer pace by a fuller delivery from the pacer to be trapped lbw for 58.
Pant broke a brief period of silence by playing a helicopter shot off Fernando for six, followed by getting a thick edge on the slog going for four more. After Pathirana castled Hardik Pandya with a searing yorker, Pant sliced him for a boundary, before he and Riyan Parag took a four each off Theekshana.
Though Parag was trapped lbw by another smashing yorker from Pathirana, Pant scooped and whipped (lost his control on the bat) to hit consecutive fours, taking India past 200. But the left-hander lost his shape on an early slog off Pathirana and saw his off-stump being rattled by the pacer. After Rinku Singh chopped off Fernando, Axar Patel drilled a lofted drive over the bowler’s head to take India past 210-mark.
Brief scores:
India 213/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 58, Rishabh Pant 49; Matheesha Pathirana 4-40) against Sri Lanka (Agency)
