India bow to Sri Lanka in another cliffhanger as Rohit’s valiant knock goes in vain

In a development not so ceremonious, the Men in Blue find themselves dangling by a slender thread as Sri Lanka triumphed over them, courtesy of a solid display from their skipper, Dasun Shanaka who contributed handsomely both with the bat and the ball and a swashbuckling knock from their most seasoned campaigner, Kusal Mendis who powered a fine opening stand to secure their third consecutive win of the ongoing Asia Cup.

Rohit Sharma lost another crucial toss and was asked to bat first. Team India lost their footing early as KL Rahul failed to get out of the closet while Virat Kohli fell for a rare duck, imparting a partial glimpse of a meltdown to the marauding Lankan bowlers. However, the Indian captain stood tall and brought out the much-required big guns just when the pressure started mounting about his limited residence in the center.

Suyakumar Yadav dropped anchor at the other end while Rohit carried with his onslaught, reaching his 28th T20I half-century in pompous fashion, propelling India to a breezing total at the end of the first ten overs. However, once Sharma fell to Chamika Karunaratne, India found themselves teetering again, much more restlessly this time.

With spasmodic contributions from all ends, the Men in Blue managed to amass 173 on a surface that had too much to offer for the teams chasing. Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav contributed the lion’s share of the score while a late blitzkrieg from Ravichandran Ashwin allowed India to put up a warring total on the cards.

The Indian bowlers somehow lost their plot too early in the game as the opening partnership of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis proved to be too hot and Sri Lanka was cruising at one stage that accorded the feeling that the chase was going to be really short and one-sided. However, if there is one thing that cricket has taught us to date, it is that never believe in a fate unless it has been sealed. From Malinga’s four wickets in four balls to Zaheer Khan’s brace against England in the 2011 World Cup, we have seen the craziest miracles unfold and Team India suddenly found themselves in the midst of one. Chahal was the man who provided an important breakthrough as he bagged the all-important wicket of Pathum Nissanka while Charith Asalanka was back in the dugout without troubling the scorers at all. Gunathilaka nudged around for a brief period before lofting Ravi Ashwin straight through the gullet of a darting KL Rahul. Chahal once again struck gold as he bagged his third of the night, removing the crucial wicket of Kusal Mendis with a peach.

The complexion of the contest changed and it was a show of resurgence from the Indians while the Lankans made decent use of the minutest opportunities provided to push the war to the wire. Another expensive over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 19th flipped the tide in Sri Lanka’s favor while Arshdeep’s valiant effort in the final over to defend 7 runs went unrewarded as the Lions walked away with the bragging rights at the end of a heavily oscillating tug-of-war that had all the signs of a high octane encounter barring the result that will provide Team India a flurry of questions to mull about.