RANCHI: A maiden T20 fifty by
Shikhar Dhawan, a hat-trick by Thisara Perera and a Team India victory. It was a perfect day for the 25,000-strong crowd at JSCA International Cricket Stadium here on Friday as India beat Sri Lanka by 69 runs to keep the three-match T20 series poised at 1-1.
While Dhawan was the top scorer with his belligerent 51, Ravichandran Ashwin and
Ashish Nehra shone with the ball.
With four ducks and just four batsmen reaching the two-figure marks, the script changed dramatically from the last match for the visitors.
Chasing a steep target of 197, the Lankans looked to have lost the game in the first two overs. With the batsmen facing their first challenge in the series, Dhoni handed the new ball to the trusted Ashwin.
Dilshan got dismissed by a stumping on the first legal ball of the innings. The next wicket was lost in the second over off the first ball sent down by Ashish Nehra, with
Yuvraj Singh taking an excellent running catch at mid-on to dismiss Seekuge Prasanna. Nehra claimed his next victim in his second over, getting Danishka Gunathilaka caught behind.
With the score reading 16 for three, it was time for skipper Chandimal to try and steady the Lankan ship along with Chamara Kapugedara.
The Lankan skipper was almost headed for the pavilion on a catch at long on by
Rohit Sharma in the 11th over. But replays showed that the ball had touched the ground. But Kapudegara (32) was dismissed in the very next over to a well-taken catch by Hardik Pandya that ended the 52-run partnership. And it was not long before Chandimal (31) too lost his wicket to a stumping off a
Ravindra Jadeja off-spin.
The match was as good as over for the Lankans, who were then languishing on 68 for five. After a brief resistance, Bumrah (2-14) struck twice to settle the issue. Earlier, the visitors won the toss and opted to field. While the Indian skipper surprised once again by choosing to go with the team he played in the lost match in Pune, there was nothing unpredictable in the Sri Lanka playing XI as fit again Tillakaratne Dilshan replaced Niroshan Dickwella.
Dhawan and Sharma once again set the tone, hitting the Lankan bowlers all over the park. Dhawan, especially, was in a belligerent mood.