India overcame the disappointment of losing the final ODI with a comprehensive 38-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, July 25.
After Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field, India put a par score of 164 on the board. The Men in Blue turned in an all-round bowling performance to restrict the hosts to just 126, despite Charith Asalanka’s fighting knock.
Here is the Indian playing XI’s report card for the 1st T20I against Sri Lanka.
IND vs SL 2021, 1st T20I: India Player Ratings
Prithvi Shaw: 2/10
Shaw bagged a first-ball duck on his T20I debut as a peach of an outswinger from Dushmantha Chameera found the edge of his bat. He took a catch, but it was a miserable outing overall for the youngster.
Shikhar Dhawan: 8/10
Dhawan scored 46 off 36 balls, anchoring the innings while Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav accelerated at the other end. He fell while trying to up the ante himself, but made up for his dismissal with a superb display of captaincy in the second innings. Almost every bowling change Dhawan made yielded a wicket.
Ishan Kishan: 7.5/10
Coming in at No. 5, Kishan scored a quickfire unbeaten 20 at the death to boost India’s total. He was a touch lucky to pull off the stumping of Dasun Shanaka, but was solid behind the stumps.
Sanju Samson: 6.5/10
Samson appeared to be in pristine touch during his 27, but he just can’t seem to convert any of his starts to truly memorable scores. A googly from Wanindu Hasaranga trapped him in front when he seemed set for a big one.
Suryakumar Yadav: 8.5/10
Suryakumar was assured and elegant as he notched up his second T20I fifty. His brilliant knock injected momentum into India’s innings in the middle overs, and he took two catches as well.
Krunal Pandya: 7/10
Krunal bowled two tight overs for 16 runs, conceding only one boundary. He picked up the wicket of Minod Bhanuka – some much-needed success against a left-hander.
Hardik Pandya: 3/10
Hardik’s miserable time with the bat continued as he labored to 10 off 12 balls at a time when his team desperately needed him to up the run rate. He castled the struggling Ashen Bandara, but his bowling, too, was nowhere near the level expected of him. The all-rounder even dropped a catch, capping off another tough outing in Colombo.
Deepak Chahar: 7/10
Chahar was unlucky with the new ball once again, and he came back to take a couple of wickets later in the innings once again. He sent the dangerous Asalanka back to the hut and followed it up with the crucial wicket of Hasaranga.
Varun Chakravarthy: 6.5/10
Despite a couple of poor deliveries that were taken for sixes, Chakravarthy had a promising India debut. He scalped the wicket of Dasun Shanaka and kept the batsmen guessing with smart variations. Interestingly, India were confident enough to use him at the most difficult stages of the innings as a strike bowler.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 9/10
Bhuvneshwar was superb in the 1st T20I as he ended up with a four-wicket haul. He put in a much-improved death-bowling performance and threatened to provide breakthroughs throughout his spell.
Yuzvendra Chahal: 9/10
Arguably the pick of the Indian bowlers, Chahal justified his selection ahead of Rahul Chahar with a masterful display of leg-spin bowling. He finished with figures of 1/19, sending down wonderfully disguised variations in pace, line, length and spin.
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