India sneak past spirited Sri Lanka as Shivam Mavi scripts a debut to remember

What could have been a better start to the new year for the Men in Blue than a thrilling win at the Wankhede where they kept Sri Lanka at bay in a nail-biting run-chase while the pendulum kept on shuffling from one side to the other? 

Winning the toss, Dasun Shanaka put India to bat and the hosts found themselves in some early trouble. On a surface that has usually produced run fests, this was a slightly untoward grind where the batters were not able to find their usual rhythm as the ball exhibited some sharp lateral movement. Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t really hit their individual strides as the visitors reigned supreme. 

It was the captain Hardik Pandya pairing with Ishan Kishan that helped India stabilize their ship in the face of tempestuously choppy waters. The duo stitched a 41-runs stand for the fourth wicket as Ishan departed for a well-constructed 37. Hardik Pandya didn’t last for long after as Dilshan Madushanka produced an absolute ripper to remove the Indian skipper.

Teetering at 94 for the loss of 5, India rode high on some imperious striking from Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel that completely changed the course of action and what felt like a modest outing in the end for the Indians changed into a full-blown culmination of grandiose pyrotechnics as the Hooda-Axar duo added 68 runs from the last 35 balls, catapulting India to a staggering 162.

Sri Lanka couldn’t really settle down in tandem of their early requirement of runs as India kept on chipping away at the scalps comfortably with debutant Shivam Mavi drawing first blood for the Men in Blue with an absolute ripper that fireballed itself through the defences of Pathum Nissanka. His second of the day got the better of Dhananjaya de Silva as the latter attempted a no-look flick.

The next man in line of this torment was Charith Asalanka as Umran Malik’s fiery pace left him undone while Harshal Patel chimed in with an important over in the first half of the Lankan innings to remove the dangerous Kusal Mendis. Harshal made it a double through the prized scalp of Bhanuka Rajapaksa as the Indian skipper completed a safe take to leave Sri Lanka wobbling.

However, the game changed on its head with the Sri Lankan lower middle-order starting to fight back and it was RCB all-rounder, Wanindu Hasaranga who motored along decently with the Lankan skipper, Dasun Shanaka. Despite the fall of Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne kept on pushing it till the very end, almost single-handedly battling alongside the bowlers who could hardly swing their blades, bringing the equation down to 13 off 6.

In a surprising move, despite having an over in his repertoire, Hardik opted for Axar Patel who had until then had a forgettable outing with the ball to stall Chamika Karunaratne. A couple of dot balls did the trick for Axar which wheezed dangerously close to the tram line but stayed well within the bounds that made this a defence to savour. Despite a maximum and all the huff and puff from Sri Lanka in the end, it was Axar who kept his nerve and forced a couple of singles from Karunaratne while also prising out two run-outs to seize control of the bragging rights.

India will be hoping to make their domination a lot more convincing as the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium gears up for the second fixture of the ongoing T20I series.