Shreyas Iyer went ballistic in the final overs. | Photo Credit: Sportzpics/BCCI
When the openers bat out the opposition at the halfway stage of a T20 contest, excitement remains at a premium. In response, if the top-order comes apart, the result becomes a foregone conclusion.
This is exactly how the script panned out at the Ekana Stadium here on Thursday after Sri Lanka chose to chase. Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma laid the foundation with a 111-run stand and Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 28-ball 57 provided the late flourish in what ended as an emphatic 62-run victory for India.
Top-order crumbles
In reply to India’s 199 for two, the Lankan top-order disappointed much to the chagrin of skipper Dasun Shanaka. Eventually, when the visitors finished at 137 for six, the first encounter of the three-match T20I series resulted in India’s 10th successive win in the shortest format.
Pathum Nissanka played on off the first delivery of the innings from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Before long, the other opener Kamil Mishara failed to cash in on a dropped catch by Venkatesh Iyer and departed two balls later.
Charith Asalanka (53 not out), the top-scorer, was even more fortunate. Dropped on six by Shreyas off Yuzvendra Chahal, the Sri Lankan was adjudged leg-before in the same over but won the review.
No respite
However, there was no respite for the visitors as Venkatesh sent back Janith Liyanage, Ravindra Jadeja had Dinesh Chandimal stumped and Chahal sent back Shanaka to make it 60 for five. Thereafter, the margin of victory was the only point of interest.
The biggest takeaway for India was the manner in which the top-order batted responsibly after the team took the field with debutant Deepak Hooda and five players returning to the side — Jasprit Bumrah, Jadeja, Chahal, Bhuvneshwar and Sanju Samson.
Rohit, playing his 123rd match, became the highest run-getter in T20Is (3307, 115 innings) by overtaking Martin Guptill’s 3299 (108 matches) and Virat Kohli’s 3296 (97 matches). Kishan, figuring in his ninth T20I, cracked a 56-ball 89 — the highest in his career and his second half-century.
Before the dew came in and the odd ball tended to keep low at one end — the one that sent back Rohit did — India took a firm grip.
Kishan kick-started the onslaught with a hat-trick of boundaries in the third over of the innings — Chamika Karunaratne’s first — and never looked back.
After struggling against the West Indies, Ishan needed an innings of this kind. He grew in confidence and hit boundaries at regular intervals. Kishan, who was lucky to be dropped at 43 by Liyanage, also survived a bout of cramps.
After Rohit’s departure, Shreyas, too, was content to give Kishan the strike. The left-hander went after pacer Lahiru Kumara in the 16th over, smashing 6, 4, 4 in the over that cost 17. However, in the next, Kishan miscued a pull and departed.
Shreyas, who was joined by Jadeja, took charge. In an innings where he allowed just two dot balls, Shreyas smashed an unbeaten 28-ball 57. He hit two sixes and five boundaries as the last three overs produced 44, Jadeja’s contribution being just two off two deliveries during that period.
