Team India got off to a triumphant start in the T20I series with a comprehensive win in the first T20I in Colombo. India batted first and set a target of 165 for the home team. Sri Lanka got off to a good start in the powerplay, but the regular fall of wickets dented their hopes in the chase.
Deepak Chahar was the star for India with the ball as his twin strikes in the 16th over tilted the match in India’s favor completely. Bhuvneshwar Kumar(4/22) then wrapped up the tail quickly and ended the innings with a four-wicket haul. Fans were delighted by the Indian victory and took to Twitter to express it.
Here are some of the reactions:
Suryakumar Yadav’s second T20I fifty helped India reach 164/5 in the first innings
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka won the toss and invited India to bat first in the series opener. India got off to the worst possible start as Prithvi Shaw got out for a golden duck on the first ball of the match. Shikhar Dhawan(46) then consolidated the innings by playing a responsible knock in the company of middle-order batsmen.
He put on a 51-run partnership with Sanju Samson(27) for the second wicket and 62 runs with Suryakumar Yadav(50) for the third wicket. But none of these batters managed to build on their good platforms and converted it into a match-winning knock.
Hardik Pandya(10 in 12 balls) had a horrid time at the crease during his brief stay. Ishan Kishan’s(20* in 14 balls) cameo at the end took India to 164/5 in 20 overs.
In reply, Sri Lankan team management might have pinned high hopes on Avishka Fernando, who was their hero with the bat in the last ODI. Even today, Avishka Fernando(26) got a start and was looking composed. But he perished in search of some quick runs after the powerplay overs concluded.
Later, Charith Asalanka(44 in 26 balls) played an aggressive knock to keep Sri Lanka in the chase even though wickets kept falling at the other end. Deepak Chahar(2/24) dismissed him in the 16th over and delivered a knockout punch to the hosts. Sri Lanka never recovered from it, as they collapsed like a pack of cards in the following overs as they were bundled out for 126 in 18.3 overs.
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