India clinch T20I series victory with a game to spare as batters rack up storm in rain-curtailed game

With the series point up for grabs, Team India’s youngsters showed why they are the right fit to take the mantle forward as pointed out by Virat Kohli. Put into bowl after losing out the toss in the second T20I against Sri Lanka, the Indian bowlers had an early wobble despite Arshdeep Singh’s opening blow.

Singh claimed Kusal Mendis (10), allowing the Indian bowlers a bit of breathing reprieve up front but Pathum Nissanka (32) and Kusal Perera (53) did chime in with a resolute stand, shaking off the early jitters while steadying the ship for the hosts.

Kamindu Mendis did well to continue the charge for the hosts, adding 26 runs to the tally but that was the last straw of resistance for Sri Lanka as the Indian bowlers were quick to spot the floodgates and stormed through to file a strong case for their series win.

Ravi Bishnoi was the pick of the bowling lot, registering figures of 3/26 while he had decent support from Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya as the trio plundered six wickets between them to restrict Sri Lanka to 161/9.

India’s chase of what seemed like a decent total saw an unwanted halt due to the rude interruption of the Rain Gods. Once the covers were off and the heavens were sealed tight, the revised equation for the Men in Blue to snatch the series was 78 from eight overs.

Despite Sanju Samson departing for a golden duck, Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Suryakumar Yadav wasted no time whatsoever and went onto hit fifth gear. Jaiswal blasted a 15-ball-30 while Yadav cooked another massive storm, smashing 26 off 12. Hardik Pandya’s 9-ball-22 saw India cross the finish line with nine balls and seven wickets to spare. Ravi Bishnoi won the Player of the Match award for his defining performance with the ball.