India and Sri Lanka locked horns in the inconsequential third T20I on Tuesday, July 30, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele. The Men in Blue won by as the series finished at in favour of the hosts.
India got off to a terrible start in the powerplay as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and captain Suryakumar Yadav. All four batters got out playing aggressive shots on a sluggish track. At the end of the powerplay, India only managed 30 runs for the loss of four wickets and were looking down the barrel.
Shubman Gill and Shivam Dube tried to steady the ship but all they managed was a run-a-ball partnership of 18 runs. The all-rounder was dismissed by Ramesh Mendis as the spinners started to get a lot of turn from the surface. The best partnership of the Indian innings came from Gill and Riyan Parag as the duo added 54 crucial runs off 40 balls. Parag was the more aggressive batter in the partnership as he smashed Wanindu Hasaranga for two sixes in an over. Meanwhile, the Indian vice-captain tried to play the anchor's role but was out stumped by Hasaranga for a 37-ball 39.
Parag also departed in quick succession as Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi joined forces. They showed a lot of resilience and stitched an important partnership of 32 runs off 24 balls. Two wickets fell off the last two deliveries of the Indian innings as the visitors finished on 137/9 in their 20 overs. Sri Lanka suffered a massive blow as Matheesha Pathirana couldn't come on to bowl after suffering a shoulder injury while fielding. However, the spinners did a commendable job in favourable conditions to keep India below the 150-run mark.
Sri Lanka lose the plot after solid first 15 overs
Sri Lanka got off to a solid start thanks to openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis. They negotiated a fine new-ball spell from Mohammed Siraj and added 58 runs inside the first nine overs. After Nissanka departed for 26, Kusal Perera joined Mendis in the middle and added 52 off 39 balls. Sri Lanka were cruising along in their run-chase as they needed just 28 runs off the last 29 balls with nine wickets in the bank.
However, like the previous two games, the hosts suffered yet another batting collapse. They went from 110/1 in 15.1 overs to 132/8 in 19.3. Eventually, the match went to the Super Over after Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh bowled two fantastic overs in the end.
In the Super Over, Sri Lanka lost both their wickets for just two runs to Washington Sundar. In India's batting essay, Suryakumar hit Maheesh Theekshana for a boundary to take India to victory.
Losing skipper, Charith Asalanka
Definitely, really disappointed, especially the middle order and lower-middle order. Very bad shot selection. The thinking was spinners were bowling and that's why Hasaranga came up the order and we gave him the license to hit one or two boundaries. I think especially we played some wrong shots and when the ball gets old, the shot selection has to be spot on. We can't give excuses and we have to do more than this. I want to see good batting performance in ODIs and I think the boys will do better.
Winning skipper and Player of the Series, Suryakumar Yadav
I think more than the last over. When we were 30 for 4 and 48 for 5, the way we showed character. 140 was a par score on this track. I told them I've seen such kinds of games and I told the boys if you put your heart into it, you can pull it off. The amount of skill they have and self-confidence they have - it makes my job easy. The care for each other they show is unbelievable. They made my job easy and when I go into bat, I have little pressure and I just express myself. I don't want to be the captain. I want to be the leader
Player of the Match, Washington Sundar
I guess all the work I did and a lot of blessings from god helped me. I just wanted to try and stay calm and focus on what I needed to do. Grateful to Surya to throw the ball to come in that kind of a situation. Very grateful to have gotten an opportunity in this game. I just need to do what I need to do. We did a bit of homework against their batsmen and there was some purchase in the wicket and I just sort of had to hit the right length.
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