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Sri Lanka registered a 16-run over India in the second T20I to level the three-match series 1-1 despite brilliant half-centuries by all-rounder Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav as India failed to recover from early setbacks at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium, on Thursday.
Axar scored a brilliant 65 off 31 balls with three fours and six sixes along with Suryakumar who scored 51 off 36 balls with three fours and as many sixes to stitch a 91-run partnership off 40 balls for the sixth wicket. In the end, Axar also got help from fast bowler Shivam Mavi who scored 26 off 15 with two fours and as many maximums to help India recover from a precarious position to condition when they needed 20 off the last over.
But in the end, the task was too stiff for the Gujarat batter who played some sensational shots including three sixes off successive deliveries in the 14th over. Dasun Shanaka got him out in the final over as India’s hopes ended.
India looked in deep trouble after losing four wickets for 39 runs at the end of the powerplay and it became 57/5 in the 10th over before Suryakumar and Axar came together for a 91-run partnership that had the 30,460 spectators rocking and cheering.
However, in the end, it proved too good to last as they were restricted to 190/8, falling short by 16 runs as Sri Lanka levelled the three-match series 1-1.
India gave it their all, but Sri Lanka have drawn level in the series with a win in a high-scoring game in Pune 👏#INDvSL | 📝 Scorecard: https://t.co/Kbt60yEhau pic.twitter.com/LjeGIagn5f
— ICC (@ICC) January 5, 2023
While chasing a total of 207, India had a poor start as they lost four wickets in the first five overs with only 34 runs on the board.
Ishan Kishan got dismissed on 2 off 5 balls and was done in by a superb in-swinger by Rajitha as he swung at one pitched wide and the ball sneaked in to hit the stumps. Gill played a nothing-shot, trying to pull a good length ball, giving a simple catch to the mid-on fielder.
Debutant Rahul Tripathi faced eventful five balls in the middle. He danced down the wicket to square drive Rajitha between point and cover for a four on the third ball of the second over. He was struck on his helmet on the next ball while trying to scoop a ball from short-of-length which hit his helmet and raced off for four leg-byes.
He was out to left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka on the first ball of the next over as the ball took an edge off Tripathi’s bat and went straight into the gloves of the wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis behind the stumps.
And when skipper Hardik Pandya was out for 12, after a charmed stay at the wicket during which he struck a four off Madushanka and a six off Karunaratne, India were in deep trouble from which only Suryakumar could have saved them.
Axar hammered leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga for a hat-trick of sixes in the 14th over and with Suryakumar Yadav helping himself to a six, the over cost Sri Lanka 26 runs. They scored 15 runs off the next over, thus ending up hitting 6 sixes in two overs as Axar blazed his way to a half-century off 20 balls, hitting two fours and 6 sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav’s fifty off 33 balls looked rather sedate but the carnage was too good to last as Yadav perished going for a big one-off Madushanka, failing to pick the slower one and mis-hitting it to Dhananjay de Silva at long-on.
But with 57 needed off four overs and Yadav back in the dug-out, the task was quite stiff. Surprisingly, Mavi struck Madushanka for one four and two sixes off the last three deliveries of the 18th over to bring the equation down to 33 off 12.
In the end, India finished their innings with a total of 190/8 in 20 overs and lost the match by 16 runs as Sri Lanka won the second T20I and levelled the series 1-1.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka had a terrific start with opener Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka scoring boundaries at regular intervals and finished the powerplay at 55/0.
Kusal’s 52 off 31 balls with three fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 167.74 put the Indian bowlers under pressure in the first half of their innings. While Hardik Pandya was tidy in the opening over, Arshdeep Singh ended up going for 19 runs in the second over which included a four and a six for Mendis.
Axar was hit for a six by Mendis while pacer bowler Umran Malik too conceded a six as Mendis brought up a 27-ball fifty to provide Sri Lanka with a great platform. helped by some shoddy Indian bowling, including seven very costly no-balls.
Kusal Mendis’s 52 off 31 balls, Shanaka’s 56 off 22 not out and Charith Asalanka’s 37 off 19 were the top scorers for Sri Lanka and kept the run rate up as they posted a total of 206/6 in 20 overs.
Barring Axar who ended with figures of 2/24 from his four overs, all the other Indian bowlers went for runs.
Even though speedster Umar Malik (3/48) picked three wickets, he too was taken to the cleaners, while last match hero Shivam Mavi (0/53) looked a pale shadow of himself.
Arshdeep conceded 19 runs in the second over, which included two back-to-back no-balls that yielded 17 runs with a four and six besides the extra runs as Sri Lanka got off to a flier after being sent into bat.
It was a bad day at the office for Arshdeep who didn’t play the first T20I due to illness and was playing competitive cricket after the final ODI against New Zealand on November 30. He was bound to be rusty coming into this match as he ended with figures of 0/37 from his two overs while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took 1/30 from his four overs.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was awarded Player of the Match for his brilliant performance with both bat and ball, scoring 56(22)* and taking 2/4 from his one over.
India will face Sri Lanka in the third T20I which will be a series decider at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 206/6 in 20 overs (Kusal Mendis 52, Dasun Shanaka 56 not out, Charith Asalanka 37, Pathum Nissanka 33; Umran Malik 3-48, Axar Patel 2-24) beat India 190/8 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 51, Axar Patel 65, Shivam Mavi 26; Dasun Shanaka 2-4, Kasun Rajitha 2-22, Dilshan Madushanka 2-45) by 16 runs
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