Hello and welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka.
India innings
It's not Pant, but Kohli who smashes a six to seal the win! The ball sails over the deep mid-wicket boundary. A clinical display from India.; first with the ball and then with the bat.
WICKET! Iyer goes for glory, pulling Kumara's short ball straight to the deep square leg fielder. He departs for 34. Pant's turn to finish the match now.
Just six needed for India to wrap things up.
1000 runs as captain in T20Is. Phenomenal record.
IND 137/2 in 17 overs: Kohli gets on the act, too. He nudges Malinga behind for a four before pulling a short ball for a six over the square fine leg boundary.
IND 121/2 in 16 overs: Iyer loves spin and he gets under the flight of Hasaranga. He slogs two boundaries over the deep mid-wicket before smashing him straight down the ground for a six. 22 off that over and the asking rate is below six now.
India requires another 39 in 30 balls.
IND 99/2 in 14 overs: Iyer with a crunching drive over the bowlers' head to ease some pressure off his side. India's first boundary in 17 balls.
IND 88/2 in 12 overs: What a review from Hasaranga and Sri Lanka! Dhawan goes for the sweep, misses and his front leg hit by Hasaranga. Umpire turns down the appeal but Hasaranga convinces Malinga to go for the review. Ball tracker shows three reds. The ball is going on to hit the leg stump. Dhawan departs and in walks Kohli.
Another 66 required in 10 overs.
IND 77/1 in 10 overs: WICKET! Just as it seemed like India was coasting towards the target. Googly from Hasaranga and Rahul completely misses it while looking to play the inside out lofted drive. He departs for 45. Shreyas Iyer, not Kohli, walks in at No. 3.
IND 71/0 in 8 overs: Dhawan gets a first boundary after 21 balls and what a gift.. from the skipper Malinga. He lets it through his fingers and the ball races to the boundary.
IND 63/0 in 7 overs: Dhawan is looking a bit edgy out there. He clearly wants that boundary to get himself going too.
Rahul continuing his good form into the new year. Wonder if Dhawan is feeling the pressure at the other end as Rahul continues to cement his place at the second opener in the team. India 54/0 at the end of the powerplay.
IND 49/0 in 5 overs: Another couple of boundaries for Rahul; one through the covers along the ground before lofting it through the region.
IND 39/0 in 4 overs: Rahul gets going here. Sri Lanka gets spin on in the form of Dhananjaya. He gets on to his back foot to make room for himself to squeeze the ball through the offside for a four before crafting a couple of twos. 11 off that over.
IND 28/0 in 3 overs: Nothing streaky this time. Rahul with two gorgeous back-to-back boundaries, driving Malinga through the cover region. 13 runs of the over.
IND 15/0 in 2 overs: Some serious pace from Lahiru Kumara early on. Rahul gets a streaky boundary to the deep square leg region.
IND 8/0 in 1 over: A tidy start from Malinga is ruined by costly four overthrows Dhawan had to squirt out three of inswinging yorkers to keep his stumps intact. Dhawan has come out with a kookaburra bat; a rare sight in Indian cricket. The only other Indian player who in recent times is sponsored by the Australian manufacturer is Sanju Samson. Dhawan has been using a Kookaburra since the Bangladesh T20s.
After the comeback of Bumrah, it's the turn of Shikhar Dhawan. He makes his way to the middle with KL Rahul, who is in great touch a the moment. Malinga with the new ball.
Sri Lanka innings
Superb collective effort from the Indian bowlers, with Saini headlining it with his impressive pace. they have given the batsmen a chaseable target on a venue which Kohli reckons is a 'brilliant chasing ground'.
SL 142/9 in 20 overs: Very unlike Bumrah here but understandable since he hasn't played international cricket in over four months. Hasaranga manages to score three successive boundaries to give some flourish to Sri Lanka's innings which was lacking right through.
SL 130/9 in 19 overs: A wicket for Shardul Thakur as well. A slower ball and Dhananjaya de Silva spoons a catch to the mid-ff where Dube coolly pouches it. WICKET! One more for Shardul. Another slower delivery and Isuru Udana lofts it into the covers for Saini. Make that three in the over! Malinga hoicks it in the air to the square leg fielder. It's all smiles from Thakur.
SL 117/6 in 17 overs: WICKET! Bumrah gets a wicket on comeback. Shanaka makes room to cut but is deceived in pace by Bumrah. A 114-kmph off-cutter and he knocks back the middle stump.
SL 104/5 in 15 overs: Dasun Shanaka joins Rajapaksa. But Rajapaksa departs. Saini bowls it short and at pace (144 kmph). Rajapksa goes for the pull and ends up gloving it through to Pant.
SL 102/4 in 14 overs: Kuldeep drags it short and Kusal switches his grip and crashes it high over the short third man boundary for a six! WICKET! He bowls it wide next ball and Kusal has to reach out for it while going for the slog. Shikhar Dhawan takes a well-judged catch at the long-on boundary. Kusal departs for 34 off 28 balls. 100 up for Sri Lanka in the 14th over.
SL 84/3 in 12 overs: Kuldeep Yadav comes on... and he is welcomed with a six over long-on by Kusal. WICKET! Oshada looks to do the same by stepping out but he fails to connect. Kuldeep bowls it slightly wider and Pant had the simple task of collecting it and whipping off the bails. Left-hander Bhanuka Rajapaksa comes in at No. 5
SL 75/2 in 11 overs: Oshada slog sweeps Sundar over the short fine leg fielder but fails to connect with the reverse. The pair is itching to get a move on with the scoring rate.
SL 67/2 in 10 overs: Just 19 runs have come off the four overs after the powerplay as Saini completes another tidy over. He breached the 150kmph mark dwith the first ball of the over.
SL 64/2 in 9 overs: Monster hit from Kusal Perera! Slog sweeps Sundar over deep-wicket for a huge six. Eight runs from that over.
SL 56/2 in 8 overs: WICKET! BOWLED 'IM! Saini with a searing yorker at 147kmph , castling the stumps of Gunathilaka. Gunathilaka had a couple of unsuccessful wild swings in the over and made room again but Saini bowled it full and fast to disturb his stumps. Iyer spurns a run-out opportunity. Miscommunication between Oshada and Kusal which sees the latter stranded in the middle. But Iyer throws it down the wrong end and misses.
SL 53/1 in 7 overs: A tight over from Washington. Just five runs of it. Gunathilaka goes for the reverse-sweep again but doesn't get the right placement on it as he did in Washington's first over.
SL 48/1 in 6 overs: Sri Lanka will be pleased with that start to the powerplay. It's something to build on in the middle overs if Perera fires.
Kusal Perera is the new man in.
SL 39/1 in 5 overs: WICKET! Kohli turns to spin in the form of Washington Sundar and he gets the breakthrough. Avishka dances down the track and looks to go inside out to a delivery which is on middle and leg. He doesn't connect it well and ends up spooning a catch to Saini at mid-off.
SL 31/0 in 4 overs: In case you are wondering, Bumrah is bowling at a good rate. He has consistently hit speeds of 144-146. He has been a tad wayward, however. Avishka whips one over to the mid-wicket boundary after Bumrah strays down the leg. Avishak is batting on 21 from 14 balls with 5 boundaries.
SL 22/0 in 3 overs: Two delightful boundaries from Avishka; a drive between covers and mid-off followed by a crunching pull to the deep mid-wicket boundary.
Navdeep Saini, too, gets a look in with the new ball as he replaces Bumrah.
SL 13/0 in 2 overs: A good start from Thakur and Avishka has found it hard to get him away. There was one good length delivery which was punched down the ground by Avishka. Shardul digs it in short and the opener miscues a pull to the short mid-on region, where the ball falls short of the onrushing Shivam Dube.
SL 7/0 in 1 over: Bumrah beats the edge on couple of occasions after being driven through the covers for a four by Avishka. Shardul Thakur will share the new ball.
And he starts with a wide down the leg side to the left-hander Gunathilaka. He seems to be coming off a longer run-up than usual.
Openers Avishka Fernando and Dhanushka Gunathilaka stride out to the middle, Jasprit Bumrah has the new ball.
The national anthems are done. It's time for the first T20I action of the World Cup year.
Both teams unchanged from the washed out game from Guwahati
TOSS: Virat Kohli wins the toss, India will bowl first. The Indian skipper reckons it will be great track to chase on.
CAPTAINS SPEAK
Kohli: "Brilliant chasing ground, no doubts about that. We're on track for the T20 World Cup. Want to see youngsters winning us games under pressure. These games are to help us figure out who those guys are."
Malinga: "We were looking to bowl first, but these are things we can't control. I'm concentrating on white-ball cricket over the last couple of years, just want to do well with my lines and lengths. We don't have too much time to give opportunities to others. We are also playing the same XI as last match."
The Preview
The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati was poised to throw light on India’s team combination puzzle, but heavy rain ensured that clarity was not readily provided.
READ: India vs Sri Lanka: Indore ready for Dhawan, Bumrah comeback
The wait for answers will be short, however, as the sides resume battle in the second T20I at the Holkar Stadium here on Tuesday. For opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, the abandoned game robbed him of a chance to increase his stock. Dhawan, whose spot could be under threat once Rohit Sharma returns well rested, will be desperate to stake his claim with a big knock.
His partner K.L. Rahul is ahead in the race, having struck three fifties and a century in the limited-over series against West Indies last month. Rahul must have fond memories of this venue, for he smashed a 49-ball 89 in the first-ever T20I held here, in December 2017. On the day, Rahul and Rohit racked up a 165-run opening stand to put the Sri Lankans to the sword.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leaving injuries behind, Dhawan wants to be more impactful in 2020
Plagued by injuries in 2019, opener Shikhar Dhawan is aiming for a fresh start in the new year and wants to become a “more impactful” batsman in his quest to help India lift the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.
Dhawan did not have a very good 2019 as he was in and out of the team because of injuries.
The left-handed opener was ruled out midway from last year’s ICC ODI World Cup after sustaining a thumb fracture. Injuries continued to haunt Dhawan as he missed the home T20 series against the West Indies in December after hurting his knee during a Ranji Trophy match.
“Last year I had lots of injuries but that’s part and parcel of our work. It’s a new year and I am looking forward for a new start and it’s gonna go a long way,” Dhawan told bcci.tv.
“This year looking I am forward to score lots of runs for the team and for myself and be a more impactful player, win matches for my team and win the World Cup,” he said, elaborating on his goal for 2020.
Teams:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey.
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera(w), Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Lasith Malinga(c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.
Comments
SHARE