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On Saturday, July 27, India defeated Sri Lanka by 43 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele. After the captain Suryakumar Yadav scored a fifty, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel picked up vital wickets for India to ensure that Sri Lanka weren’t anywhere close to chasing the 214-run target.
For the unversed, the captain of Sri Lanka, Charith Asalanka, won the toss and decided to bowl first against India in the first T20I. But Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill got off to a flyer in the powerplay stage, stitching together a 74-run stand for the opening wicket.
After the dismissals of Jaiswal (40 off 21) and Gill (34 off 16) in consecutive deliveries either side of the powerplay, the responsibility of taking the India innings forward came on the captain Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant. Both these two batters shared a 76-run partnership for the third wicket, to put the team in a strong position.
Suryakumar Yadav top scored for India with 58 off 26, which included eight fours and two maximums, while Rishabh Pant got 49 off 33 with six fours and one maximum. Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana picked up four wickets for 40 runs in his four-over spell, to help reduce India’s eventual total somewhat, but still, it was 213/7 in their allotted overs.
In the run chase, the highly accomplished opening pair of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis provided the best possible start for Sri Lanka, stichting a 84-run stand. Arshdeep Singh picked up the first wicket for India, getting Kusal Mendis to find Yashasvi Jaiswal at the deep mid-wicket boundary after scoring 45 off 27 with seven fours and one maximum.
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera shared a 56-run stand for the second wicket before Axar Patel picked up both their wickets in one over. After this, Sri Lanka lost a plethora of wickets in quick succession, to hand the initiative to the Indian cricket team before getting bundled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
Riyan Parag ended up picking three wickets in eight balls, cleaning up the Sri Lankan tail. The top scorer for Sri Lanka was Pathum Nissanka, who got 79 off 48 with seven fours and four maximums.
