HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Shreyas, Player of the Match : It was really important for me to time the ball because it was swinging and seaming. Sanju came in and we built a crucial partnership. Jaddu bhai came in and it was a cruise. I realised that the ball was not turning and thought stepping out would be a good option. Even if I mistime it on this ground, the ball would go to the boundary.
Rohit : I think it was pleasing to see for us. The middle order coming out and performing is good to see. Those guys taking the responsibility and finishing off games. I don't want to be too harsh on the bowlers. It can happen these days, but we restricted them in the first 15 overs. It was a good pitch to bat on as well. Lot of these guys are talented. They just need an opportunity to express themselves and backing from our side. To finish the way they did was really good. Jaddu came and looked positive from ball one and Shreyas as well. We lost a couple of wickets, but we wanted someone to stay till the end.
Shanaka : It was a good score in the conditions, we started well, but should have done more in the PowerPlay. The ball did a bit during the PowerPlay though. The wicket was superb, the ball was coming on nicely and I played to my strengths. We will look to get out of the series with a win tomorrow.
Samson : I think the wicket was playing well and the outfield was quick. We thought it was easily chaseable. We can cover 10 runs per over at this ground. I wanted to go after the bowling. The rhythm wasn't there at the start, but after hitting one boundary, I got the rhythm back. I think it's a special day for me. I made my debut seven years ago and feels good contributing to the country's win.
INDIA INNINGS
IND 186/3 in 17.1 overs: Jadeja finishes off in style, punching Chameera past mid-off to finish unbeaten on 45 off 18 balls.
IND 182/3 in 17 overs: Shreyas guides a decent ball from Binura down to the third man boundary. India needs 2 runs in 18 balls.
IND 174/3 in 16 overs: Another disappointing effort on the field from Asalanka. Jadeja launches Chameera into outer space and it hangs in the air for quite some time before Asalanka bobbles it into the ropes. Two back-to-back swats of disdain into the mid-wicket fence followed by another four towards square third. Jadeja is surely in a hurry to rush back to the team hotel.
IND 153/3 in 15 overs: Jadeja pierces through the sweeper cover region to get four more. To make matters worse for SL, it is a front-foot no ball. A free-hit will follow. The free-hit has gone for four off an attempted yorker. Shreyas and Jadeja are very good runners between the wickets and that shows as they continue to convert the ones into twos. Meanwhile, Shreyas, on 68, has just registered his best score in T20Is. 17 runs off an over that has taken the match completely away from Sri Lanka's hands.
IND 136/3 in 14 overs: Jadeja tees off with a beautiful cover drive to pick up four runs. 'Heart-in-mouth' moment for Shreyas, who goes early into another flat-batted pull that drops just short of the fielder at deep mid-wicket.
IND 128/3 in 13 overs: Sloppy fielding by Binura at backward square leg ensures Samson picks up three extra runs off a thick outside edge. Taking confidence from that, Samson has dispatched Lahiru's slower ball outside off for an over-boundary. SIX... Once again! Pitched up this time, on off and Samson utilises the pace to increase Sri Lanka's worries. Samson gets it off the middle again. Bowled in the slot and this has gone flying over the bowler's head. YOU CANNOT DO THAT BINURA! Samson throws his arms at a widish delivery and Binura, the lone slip, has somehow managed to hold on to the edge with a terrific one-handed effort. Mother of blinders, this!
IND 105/2 in 12 overs: With the third man inside the circle, Shreyas makes room for himself to lift a loose ball from Shanaka over backward point for a maximum. Shanaka drills it wide and if not for the 'keeper that would have definitely raced away to the fence. Another wide; this is poor from the Sri Lanka skipper. At this point in the first innings, SL was struggling at 80/3.
IND 91/2 in 11 overs: Samson is living a charmed life right now as he nearly holes out to Nissanka again. The ball dips right in front of the fielder at deep-midwicket. Shreyas gets to his fifty off 30 in style, shuffling across and flat-batting a six to the sight-screen.
IND 80/2 in 10 overs: Samson granted a life as Shanaka watches on in disbelief. The SL skipper gets the Rajasthan Royals captain to swivel pull off the very first delivery but the fielder rushing in lets it through and away to the boundary. Time for drinks. India needs 104 off 60 balls.
IND 70/2 in 9 overs: Shreyas goes downtown! Good use of the feet to get to the pitch of the ball. And again! Shreyas shimmies down to take Jayawickrama for a ride. The crowd has come alive once again.
IND 56/2 in 8 overs: Shreyas and Samson keep the scoreboard ticking with singles and a double off Karunaratne's bowling.
IND 51/2 in 7 overs: A few overs of spin now as Jayawickrama has been brought on. The 50 comes up for India. Five runs off the over.
IND 46/2 in 6 overs: GONE! Ishan has holed out to Shanaka at mid-on. Lahiru has a wicket. Samson out to prove himself. Sri Lanka goes for a mind-boggling review after Samson is adjudged not out against an LBW appeal. There was a clear inside edge.
IND 44/1 in 5 overs: 64 per cent of Sri Lanka deliveries have clocked 140-plus kph, thus far! The visitors are breathing fire... Pulled in front, has Shreyas and the ball beats the fielder at mid-on. Another pull and the ball disappears between mid-wicket and mid-on. Three boundaries off as many deliveries now as Shreyas goes exploring the long-off region on this occasion.
IND 30/1 in 4 overs: Lahiru gets one to grow a bit on Shreyas. Ouch! Ishan has been hit flush on the helmet. The physio Nitin Patel has rushed in and a madatory concussion test is underway. Shreyas riding his luck as a huge edge glides past the lone slip. SL has called in a second slip.
IND 23/1 in 3 overs: Chameera starts off with a wide. However, he continues to trouble the batters, with the ball skidding off the surface. The lateral movement is bothering Shreyas as well.
IND 18/1 in 2 overs: A good length delivery from Binura sees the ball zip away from off. Ishan gets an edge, but it has flown past slip. Ishan almost see the ball trickle back onto the leg-stump next! The extra bit of pace on offer is doing the trick for the Lankans. Shreyas opens the scoring in style with a straight drive past the bowler for four.
IND 9/1 in 1 over: Rohit gets off the mark, tucking one past square leg, with a single. Ishan picks up a boundary, with immaculate placement through a packed off-side. Chameera's misplaced swing gifts India a wide down leg. He's played on! Early success for Sri Lanka as Chameera's extra pace sees the ball skid through. This is the fifth time the Sri Lanka pacer has got rid of Rohit; almost once every four balls!
Chameera, who has brilliant figures against Rohit will open the bowling. Ishan is the non-striker.
SRI LANKA INNINGS
SL 183/5 in 20 overs: Harshal starts off with a wide. Sri Lanka picks up four leg byes off the next as the ball crashes into Shanaka's boots before disappearing towards the third man area. Harshal pays the price for bowling a slower full toss. Shanaka only had to clear the 30-yard circle to pick up an easy boundary. Shanaka is unsure as he goes for an LBW review. However, it turns out to be a good call as Madanagopal is made to reverse his decision. Shanaka finishes off in style with two huge maximums. 72 runs came off the last four, with Shanaka leading from the front with a 19-ball 47.
SL 160/5 in 19 overs: Shanaka and Nissanka have notched up a fifty-run partnership in quick time -- off only 22 balls. Shanaka bludgeons it from outside off to clear the boundary. The next one's a top-edge over Ishan's head for four. The pressure gets to Bhuvi, who bowls a wide next. Nissanka tries to execute the reverse scoop again but gets trapped right in front of the sticks. A courageous knock comes to an end - 75 (53b 11x4 0x6).
SL 144/4 in 18 overs: A paddle sweep comes good for Nissanka. Four runs. Another quick delivery from Bumrah, and Nissanka has worked it fine again. Eight off the first two deliveries. The India pace spearhead gets the yorker right on the third occasion. Another cheeky reverse lap-sweep goes past third man for four.
SL 130/4 in 17 overs: Shanaka picks it up early. That's gone high and into the distance. There's a bit of grimace from the SL skipper as the bat turns in his hand. However, the Lankans will take that. Another slower delivery has been top-edged over the head of Venkatesh at short fine and into the fence. Next, a spectacular strike into the crowd! Shanaka is enjoying batting against Harshal.
SL 111/4 in 16 overs: At Sri Lanka's current scoring rate, it will only be able to post 137. Even at 10 RPO hereon, the side will be able to just cross 150. Will that be enough?Nissanka, meanwhile, gets to his fifty with a boundary through sweeper cover after riding the pressure early.
SL 103/4 in 15 overs: Chandimal tracks back and hits the half-volley past Bumrah for four. Comfortable catch by Rohit - his 50th in T20Is - as Chandimal walks back to the pavilion. The disguised, slower off-cutter was hit at with hard hands and the captain makes no mistake at short cover.
SL 98/3 in 14 overs: FOUR! Jadeja offers room outside off and Nissanka pounces on it with a cut behind point. Loud LBW appeal next ball but not given; clearly missing leg stump. Six from the over after that first ball four.
SL 92/3 in 13 overs: FOUR! Nissanka steps out to Bhuvi, makes room outside off and flays this over extra cover. A deft nudge through mid wicket and they settle for one. Two singles follow. FOUR! Slow and short and Nissanka pulls it fine. A valiant effort by Chahal in the deep as he tries to parry it back in with a dive on his bowling shoulder but it trickles away. One more to end the over.
SL 80/3 in 12 overs: Jadeja comes back strong after a mixed second over and gives away just four singles. Nissanka and Chandimal nudge around and have a recovery job to do.
SL 76/3 in 11 overs: Harshal into his second over. Mishara almost chips it back to the bowler as he pokes with hard hands a slower delivery outside off. Next one is quicker, still short and outside off and a single at third man. Nissanka flicks through mid wicket for a couple. Oh wait, it's a short run at the non-striker's end and just one. OUT! Slow and full outside off and Mishara drives straight to Shreyas at cover, who completes a good catch diving forward.
SL 71/2 in 10 overs: The finger goes up. However, Sri Lanka has decided to review the LBW decision. The bat is close... However, UltraEdge shows no spike. It is as straight as it gets and Sri Lanka loses a review. Chahal has his man. Asalanka departs. Mishara, playing only his third T20I, walks in.
SL 69/1 in 9 overs: Jadeja has been slog-swept by Gunathilaka for a huge six! He bowls round the wicket next to get it away from the batter's arc but Gunathilaka gets it past point for four. Another maximum, this time dispatched into the stands near deep-midwicket. WICKET! Jadeja has the last laugh. Gunathilaka goes for the glorious slog-sweep yet again. But this time, the southpaw doesn't get enough on this as Venkatesh takes an excellent catch at long-on.
SL 51/0 in 8 overs: Spinners to operate in tandem. Chahal has been put away again. The ball isn't gripping and coming onto the bat quite nicely. Gunathilaka rocks back and picks four runs. The experienced leggie is bowling a lot slower than how he was bowling in Eden Gardens.
SL 41/0 in 7 overs: Time for a 'blink-and-you-miss' over from Jadeja. Gunathilaka looks to go for a reverse sweep but miscues. However, a faint top edge is enough to carry it to the fence. Good ground coverage from Hooda near the ropes ensures Gunathilaka gets only two off the last ball.
SL 32/0 in 6 overs: Nissanka welcomes Chahal into the attack with a boundary through cover. This is an important over, considering the initial fielding restrictions are done away with after it. The Lankans will look to make the most of the remaining deliveries. However, only three come off the next five balls.
SL 25/0 in 5 overs: Harshal starts off with the slower one. A premediated swivel and pull from Gunathilaka as he picks up four more. The ball, interestingly, is keeping quite low. Nissanka tees off. A length ball around 133kph bounces twice before making the ropes. He tries to go after Harshal again off the next ball but mistimes. The intent, though, is clear.
SL 15/0 in 4 overs: Surprisingly, Bumrah is extracting more movement off the surface than Bhuvneshwar. A second yorker from Bumrah and Nissanka gets his front leg out of the way to dig the ball out. Things are getting interesting, a sedate start for the Lankans but they are trying hard to get off the blocks. A slower ball from Bumrah and Nissanka has no reply for that.
SL 13/0 in 3 overs: Gunathilaka finally gets one to come off the middle of his bat. With ample width on offer, the left-handed batter has wristed it away through cover. Almost a run out next... Gunathilaka makes a late call and Nissanka was made to hurry back into the crease at the bowler's end.
SL 7/0 in 2 overs: Bumrah starts off with two wides down leg. Looks like he is trying to get the ball to nip back into the left-hander, cramping him for space. Good stop by Hooda at mid-wicket next. Rohit Sharma goes upstairs after a leg-before appeal is turned down by on-field umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal. Gunathilaka survives as the giant screen shows the impact to be outside leg. India loses a review. After two deliveries exhibit prodigious swing -- even flummoxing Ishan behind the stumps -- Gunathilaka almost plays it on.
SL 2/0 in 1 over: A bit of movement straightaway as Bhuvi gets Nissanka to play and miss. He is, however, off the mark with a single off the very next delivery. Bhuvi gets the ball to angle away from the left-handed Gunathilaka as well.
Gunathilaka and Nissanka are set to open for the Lankans. Rohit leads his boys out onto the field. Bhuvneshwar to start things off with the new ball.
The T20 caravan moves to the picturesque hill town of Dharamsala for two Twenty20 Internationals. It is 8-degree Celsius but the cold hasn't deterred fans, who have come in in large numbers to support Rohit's boys.
PLAYING XI
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Dasun Shanaka(c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
WHAT THEY SAID
Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka skipper : We would've bowled first too. The wicket was under the covers for a long time because it was raining in the morning. The top order needs to fire. Vandersay and Liyanage are out. Binura Fernando and Danushka Gunathilaka in .
Rohit Sharma, India captain : Just want to have a score in front of us. It's going to get colder as the game goes on. Same team for us. The changes don't depend on win or loss. It's just about what the team wants. We also have at look at niggles.
TOSS
India has won the toss and elected to bowl.
PITCH REPORT
"The curators have done a terrific job to create a good track. It's been rainy for a couple of days and work is still being done on the outfield. There is a nice covering of grass and the ball is coming nicely on to the bat. The point area is slightly longer at 70m. Will be interesting to see what the captains do after winning the toss on this track," reckon Deep Dasgupta and Ajit Agarkar.
- 5:30PM IST: Shayan: "We are an hour away from the toss, no signs of rain yet. But clouds hover over the snow-capped Dhauladhar mountain range. We should have a game, unless the rain is back. Dharamsala is hosting an international match after two years and about 50 per cent fans are allowed. There are traffic snarls around the stadium..."
- "It's 4.35pm and the clouds are playing hide and seek. We are two-and-half hours away from the start and it's getting cloudy. Even though it rained till about 9.30 in the morning, there has been a dry spell since," reports Shayan, who is at the venue.
MATCH PREVIEW
The last two international fixtures at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium - against South Africa in 2019 and 2020 - had been washed out. With Dharamsala witnessing scattered spells of showers in the evening over the past few days, weather could play spoilsport once again on Saturday as India gears up to play against Sri Lanka in the second T20I.
As is the tradition, the HPCA officials have also invoked rain god Indrunag , praying for clear weather on match days.
After a convincing win in the first game in Lucknow on Thursday, India stands a chance of taking an unassailable lead in the 20-over series.
With the T20 World Cup lined up later this year, the Indian team management, under the watchful eyes of head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma, aims to create a core unit. They have introduced quite a few tweaks in the batting department, defining clear roles to specific players. And thus far, the efforts have yielded results... FULL PREVIEW
- Shayan Acharya
IND VS SL PREDICTED PLAYING XI
India : Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sri Lanka : Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara.
IND VS SL DREAM11 FANTASY TEAM
Wicketkeeper : Ishan Kishan
Batters : Rohit Sharma (c) , Shreyas Iyer (vc) , Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka
All-rounders : Ravindra Jadeja, Venkatesh Iyer, Chamika Karunaratne
Bowlers : Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Jasprit Bumrah
Team Composition: IND 7:4 SL Credits Left: 1.0
SQUADS
India : Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan, Mayank Agarwal.
Sri Lanka : Pathum Nissanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kamil Mishara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Janith Liyanage, Ashian Daniel, Shiran Fernando, Binura Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva.
WIN PROBABILITY
India (86%)
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