Pallekele, July 30 2024-
A spirited bowling effort saw Sri Lanka restrict India to 137/9, after being asked to bat first in the third and final T20I of the series at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal started things for the visiting side will Gill returning to the side after missing the second game. India had a miserable start to the innings with Maheesh Theekshana drawing first blood for his side with the scalp of Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) in the second over.
Sanju Samson, who replaced Rishabh Pant in the match, came to bat at No. 3 but his stay did not last long in the middle as he was sent back to the pavilion for a four-ball duck by Chamindu Wickramasinghe in the next over.
Rinku Singh (1) and captain Suryakumar Yadav’s (8) early dismissals inside the Power-play added further misery to India’s batting line-up. India were reeling at 30/4 in 5.4 overs.
Ramesh Mendis removed Shivam Dube (13) in the ninth over to further dent India’s hopes of rebuilding the innings.
However, the 54-run partnership between Gill and Riyan Parag proved vital for the visitors as the duo steered the side to the 100-run mark and gave them respite in the middle overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga broke the stand in the 16th over by snatching the wickets of both set batters — Gill (39) and Parag (26) — in his final over of the spell. He finished with the figures of 2-29 in his allotted quota of overs.
In the end, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi added some crucial runs to the scoreboard before the former lost his wicket in the last over of the innings. He played a knock of 25 runs off 18 balls including two fours and a six while Bishnoi stayed unbeaten for eight runs.
For Sri Lanka, Theekshana bagged three scalps in his four overs to finish with best figures for the home side.
India have rested four players — Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Pant — for the match with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Brief scores:
India 137/9 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 39, Riyan Parag 26; Wanindu Hasaranga 2-29, Maheesh Theekshana 3-28) against Sri Lanka. (Agency)
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