Page 44 - The Inidian EYE 073021

SPORTS JULY 30, 2021 | The Indian Eye 44

india VS Sri lanka SerieS

sri lanka clinch t20 games 2-1 after

losing ODIs 1-2 to India

In the first match, Indian bowlers got the job done without any trouble as the visitors

took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series

Our Bureau top-scored with a knock of 40

Colombo runs as India posted 132/5 in
the allotted 20 overs. Sent into
anindu Hasaranga bat first, India got off to a steady
picked four wickets start as openers Shikhar Dha-
Wbefore Sri Lankan wan and Ruturaj Gaikwad put
batsmen wrapped an easy win in on 45 runs inside the first six
the third and final T20I against overs. The first-wicket stand of
India to clinch the three-match 49 runs finally came to an end on
series 2-1 on Thursday. Sri Lan- the final delivery of the seventh
ka needed 82 runs to win against over as Gaikwad (21) was sent
the depleted Indian side in the back to the pavilion by Dasun
series decider and the hosts Shanaka.
chase down the target comfort- Devdutt Padikkal then joined
ably inside 15 overs. Chasing 82, Dhawan in the middle and both
Sri Lanka got off to a decent batters found it tough to rotate
start as Rahul Chahar removed the strike. However, in the 11th
opening batsman Avishka Fer- Indian team celebrates the dismissal of a Sri Lankan batsman during the over, Padikkal broke the shack-
nando in the sixth over. It was T20 match between India and Sri Lanka, les as he dispatched Dhananjaya
a slow start from Sri Lanka but at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. (ANI) de Silva for a massive six. How-
the hosts were far from any ever, the 32-run stand between
trouble as they only needed 82 feat India by four wickets in the these two batters finally ended
runs to win. second T20I of the three-match in the 13th over as Akila Danan-
Chahar did pick two more series here at the R Premadasa jaya clean bowled Dhawan (40),
wickets as he dismissed Minod Stadium on Wednesday. reducing India to 81/2.
Bhanuka and Sadeera Sama- With that win, Sri Lanka had In trying to look for a big
rawickrama but wasn’t able to levelled the three-match series shot, Padikkal (29) also perished
stop Sri Lanka from chasing the at 1-1. Chasing 133, Sri Lanka in the 16th over, having been
target. Earlier, Hasaranga cele- got off to a bad start as Avish- clean bowled by Wanindu Hasa-
brated his 24th birthday in style ka Fernando (11) was sent back ranga, reducing India to 99/3.
as he picked four wickets to re- to the pavilion by Bhuvneshwar Sanju Samson (7) also failed
strict India to 81/8. Kumar in the second over of the to leave a mark and India were
Opting to bat first, India got innings. Sadeera Samarawickra- struggling to post a respectable
off to bad start as the visitors lost ma scored 8 runs from 12 balls score on the board.
skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the and his struggle finally ended in Earlier on Sunday, Sri Lan-
first over. A mix-up in the mid- the 7th over as Varun Chakra- ka captain Dasun Shanaka
dle resulted in Devdutt Padikkal India's Sanju Samson plays a shot varthy clean bowled him, reduc- won the toss and opted to bowl
getting run out in the fifth over. during the T20 match between In- ing Sri Lanka to 39/2. against India in the first T20I of
Sanju Samson’s wicket in the dia and Sri Lanka in Colombo. (ANI) Skipper Dasun Shanaka (3) the three-match series at the R
same over only dented India’s failed to leave a mark as he was Premadasa Stadium.
chances of having a decent total. mar and Kuldeep Yadav then stumped by Sanju Samson of Having won the ODI series
Ruturaj Gaikwad (14), who was stitched a 19-run stand for the the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav 2-1, the Dhawan-led side under
playing well, too departed in the sixth wicket however, Hasaranga and Sri Lanka were reduced to the guidance of head coach Ra-
fifth over. sent back the pacer in the 15th 55/3, still needing 78 runs more hul Dravid were looking to win
India lost three wickets in over. for the win from 65 balls. The set the T20I series as well. In the
the fifth over and Nitish Ra- Earlier on Wednesday, batsman Minod Bhanuka (36) first game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
na’s dismissal in the ninth over Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeat- was also dismissed by Kuldeep picked four while Deepak Cha-
left the visitors reeling at 36/5 en knock of 40 runs followed by and Sri Lanka was put on the har scalped two wickets as India
with no recognised batsman at Chamika Karunaratne’s cameo back foot at 66/4. defeated Sri Lanka by 38 runs in
the crease. Bhuvneshwar Ku- of 12 runs helped Sri Lanka de- Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan the first T20I.

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