Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan deliver as India thump Sri Lanka

After a couple of stifled knocks in the Indo-Caribbean series, Ishan Kishan chose the most perfect occasion to issue a resolute riposte to his critics as he blew the Lankans out of contention. India won the toss and chose to bat first and what followed from the batters out in the middle was nothing short of a full-blown carnage.

Kishan and Rohit were off to blinders as the Lankan bowlers struggled to contain them. It rained fours and sixes at Ekana Sports City where the hapless visitors resigned too meekly.

India was cruising at 111 from just 12 overs where Sri Lanka applied the initial brakes, courtesy of Lahiru Kumara. A peach of a delivery left Rohit’s timbre rattled and opened up a window for the visitors to reel Indian back in.

Shreyas Iyer initially started off slowly, scoring at run-a-ball while Ishan Kishan carried on with the decimation. Even though he slowed down temporarily as the ball started getting stuck in the surface, his strokes were hard enough to find their way to the ropes.

Once Kishan was claimed by Shanaka, Jadeja walked out to the middle to take a premium front row seat to Iyer’s blitzkrieg as he switched gears. From scoring at run a ball for the first half of his innings, the second half witnessed absolute madness that saw India piling up a momentous 199.

Chasing a mammoth 200, Sri Lanka was jolted to a rude awakening as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck Nissanka for a golden duck. It was hardly a matter of time before the Lankans lost their second as Kumar struck again, claiming Mishara as his next victim.

The Indian bowlers swarmed over the Lankans like cheap suits as the visitors found themselves crumbling like glass skittles in front of a barrelling cannonball. Charith Asalanka was the sole warrior in Lanka’s ailing outfit as he stitched together a 47-ball-53 with minimal help from Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera. India sealed a win by an emphatic margin of 62 runs.

India extended their winning streak to a staggering 10 games where Sri Lanka just served as cattle fodder in front of the famished hosts. The next T20I will be played in Dharamshala on the 26th of February.