| 0.0 : Hello and a warm welcome for the 4th match in this tri-series. First off, we'd like to update you that it was raining earlier, but it's stopped now and the groundstaff has done well to keep the outfield in good condition. There was a big delay, but we are ready and raring to begin. |
| Now, coming to the match, it's like we're back to ground zero with all teams having suffered a loss each and bagged a win each. Today, Sri Lanka will be with a stand-in captain Thisara Perera as Dinesh Chandimal is suspended for today's game. It will be a stern test for them, as they go up against an Indian side with the hunger for revenge. The Rohit Sharma led team might be inexperienced, but it's a learning curve for them, and these players have been known to be quick learners. We should have |
| TOSS - INDIA WIN THE TOSS AND THEY WILL HAVE A BOWL FIRST! We've lost just an over because of the rain. It will be a 19-over match, with 4 bowlers allowed to bowl 4 overs each and the rest can bowl 3. |
| Rohit Sharma says they will field first. Adds that there's been some rain around so the wicket will get better as the game goes on. Continues saying that the last game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was proof of that fact. States they have talked about what their roles are and studied the opposition too, so wants to exploit their weaknesses. Mentions there's one change, as KL Rahul comes in for Rishabh Pant. |
| Thisara Perera says it looks like a good batting track so will look to put runs on the board. Reckons their batters have done well but their bowlers weren't up to the mark, so wants to change that. Adds they have a good line-up and hopes that will bring about a good change. Ends saying there's one change as Suranga Lakmal comes in for Dinesh Chandimal. |
| Ready to begin as the umpires and the players make their way out to the center of the park. It will be Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis to open the innings for the Lankans, with Jaydev Unadkat taking the new ball first up for the Men in Blue. He has a slip in place. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : J Unadkat to D Gunathilaka, FIVE OVERTHROWS! Drama right off the bat... literally. Unadkat lands it on a length on off and gets it to shape away. Gunathilaka taps it down in front of point with an open face and both batsmen go for the run. Rahul comes to the ball and has a shy at the striker's end, but it goes off Mendis' bat and away to the fine leg boundary. |
| 0.2 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, SIX! What a hit! Took one hand off it while playing that but that still went a long way. It's dropped fuller in length, Kusal Mendis lofts it high and handsome over covers for a maximum. |
| 0.3 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, Another good length ball, close to the off stick, Mendis hangs inside his crease to block. |
| 0.4 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, Waits for the ball to come before guiding it down to third man for one. |
| Run out appeal! Danushka Gunathilaka is the man in question. Looks to be safe if the faces of the Indian players are anything to go by. Over to the TV umpire... |
| 0.5 : J Unadkat to D Gunathilaka, Safe! Length ball on middle and leg, Gunathilaka walks a step across and tucks it through backward square leg. Runs hard, comes back for the second and takes the throw on with a dive. Karthik takes the bails off and it's taken upstairs. Replays show the southpaw is safe. Good running. |
| 0.6 : J Unadkat to D Gunathilaka, Quick single to end a good over for the Lankans. 15 runs off it. It's tapped towards mid on and both batsmen quickly cross over. |
| Washington Sundar will bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : W Sundar to D Gunathilaka, SIX! Welcome, young Sundar! Gunathilaka greets him with a hammering blow. From around the wicket, it's tossed right up there. The left-hander backs away and bangs it straight back down for a flat biggie. |
| 1.2 : W Sundar to D Gunathilaka, Darted quicker on middle and leg, on a bit of a shorter length, the batsman can only defend it out. |
| 1.3 : W Sundar to D Gunathilaka, Sliding in on middle and leg, worked away into the gap on the leg side for a couple. |
| 1.4 : W Sundar to D Gunathilaka, On the pads again, placed in front of square leg for an easy run this time. |
| 1.5 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Over the wicket to Mendis, it's a straighter one on off, Mendis blocks it down on the off side with soft hands. |
| 1.6 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Quite full, almost a yorker, Mendis plays it back to the bowler. A good comeback from Sundar after that initial beating, conceded only 9 in the over. |
| Shardul Thakur comes into the attack. Remember, the hosts smacked him for 27 runs in his opening over the last time he bowled. |
| 2.1 : S Thakur to D Gunathilaka, WIDE to begin with. Thakur bowls it down the leg side, wide called by the umpire. |
| S Thakur to D Gunathilaka, OUT! MAGNIFICENT CATCH FROM SURESH RAINA! Absolute blinder. Oh wow. The replays won't justify just how hard that was hit. Unbelievable stuff. It's on a back of a length on middle and off, Gunathilaka rocks back and looks to blast the pull over mid-wicket. Not much elevation on this though. Raina moves to his left and dives full stretch as the ball sticks in his hand. Superb. Thakur is happy and relieved at the same time, he knows his mate has bailed him out. Early |
| Kusal Perera walks in at No.3. He's been in magnificent form, was in prime touch against India in their first game. Will he replicate something similar this evening? |
| 2.2 : S Thakur to K Perera, Coming back in on middle and leg, just ahead of a length, Kusal Perera from inside his crease defends it out. |
| 2.3 : S Thakur to K Perera, Width offered outside off, Perera goes after this and off the toe end, slaps it square through point for a double. |
| 2.4 : S Thakur to K Perera, Worked away on the leg side and a single is taken. |
| 2.5 : S Thakur to K Mendis, FOUR! Just wide of Chahal in the deep! Short and wide outside off, Mendis throws his bat at this and gets it off the top edge. Third man is quite square, which gives the ball enough time to go across the rope on a bounce. |
| 2.6 : S Thakur to K Mendis, Short and down the leg side, Mendis lofts it over short fine leg for two runs. 10 runs and a wicket from this over. |
| 3.1 : W Sundar to K Perera, OUT! BOWLED! Kusal Perera is gone. This is a big wicket for the Indians. Sundar from around the wicket bowls it full, Perera kneels down to reverse sweep but gets it off the back pad back onto the stumps. He's shocked at that sight, while the Indians rejoice. Credit to Washington here, he's comeback well. Got hit for a six the first ball of his last over, picks up a wicket this time around. |
| 0.0 : Upul Tharanga is the next batsman in. |
| 3.2 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Spinning away from around off, pushed to point with an open face. |
| 3.3 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Served outside off with some spin on it, Tharanga plays and misses. |
| 3.4 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Short and wide outside off, slashed hard but straight to Rohit Sharma at point. |
| 3.5 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Tossed up just outside off, pushed to the cover region for a quick one. |
| 3.6 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Brilliant from Washington. Just 2 runs and a wicket from this over. This last ball is knocked down to long on for a single. |
| Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl now. |
| 4.1 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Looped up leg break on middle stump, spins away as Kusal Mendis backs away and punches it to the man at cover. |
| 4.2 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Short and flat on middle and leg, Mendis goes deep and slaps the pull towards mid on. Two runs taken as Unadkat moves to his right and stops it. |
| 4.3 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, FOUR! Finds the gap this time. Short ball and this time Mendis pulls it wide of the mid on fielder for a boundary. |
| 4.4 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, No ball! Googly on leg stump, Mendis picks it up and works it to the square leg area for a single. |
| Free Hit coming up... |
| Y Chahal to U Tharanga, Caught off a Free Hit! Not much damage done on the freebie. Flatter and fuller on middle and leg, Tharanga comes out and looks to clear mid-wicket, but can only find Vijay Shankar in the deep who takes the catch. Only a single results. |
| 4.5 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Stays right behind the line of this and blocks it out with a straight blade. |
| 4.6 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Just behind a driving length, on the stumps, swept away towards square leg for one run. |
| 5.1 : W Sundar to K Mendis, FOUR! Nicely done. Mendis picks up the length early, kneels forward and across before lifting the sweep over backward square leg for a boundary. Picked his spot and executed the shot to perfection. The 50 comes up for Sri Lanka, which interestingly, is their slowest in this tournament so far. |
| 5.2 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Quite full on leg, eased down to long on to rotate strike. |
| 5.3 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Flat and a tad short on off, steered to point for one more. |
| 5.4 : W Sundar to K Mendis, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 5.5 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Straighter one outside off, dabbed to point. No run on this occasion. |
| 5.6 : W Sundar to U Tharanga, Yorker on the stumps, dug out towards the covers. |
| Vijay Shankar introduced into the attack. |
| 6.1 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Short of a good length around off, Mendis hangs back and pulls it along the ground through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 6.2 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Changes the angle to around the wicket, Shankar makes it come back in from around off, Tharanga has a feel for it but is beaten past the outside edge. |
| 6.3 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Steers this length ball outside off behind point and calls his partner through. |
| 6.4 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Mendis plays a similar shot. Places it down towards third man and runs across. |
| 6.5 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Full and just outside off, lofted down the ground towards wide long on. Just the one run taken. |
| 6.6 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Back of a length delivery well outside off, Kusal Mendis goes a long way across before mistiming the scoop behind square on the leg side for a run. |
| Change of ends for Yuzvendra Chahal. |
| 7.1 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Single to begin the over. Tossed up on off, it's swept along the ground behind square leg. |
| 7.2 : Y Chahal to U Tharanga, SIX! Massive hit! Chahal gives this some decent flight and it's quite slow through the air, Tharanga clears his front leg and breaks the shackles with a big swing over the long on boundary. Needed that, can probably help him to cut loose now. |
| 7.3 : Y Chahal to U Tharanga, Quite full on middle and leg, Upul muscles this straight back down the ground. Timed it well, too well, as it goes to the fielder fast and he can manage only a single. |
| 7.4 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, On the stumps, shorter in length, Mendis helps it away through mid-wicket. One run added to the scorecard. |
| 7.5 : Y Chahal to U Tharanga, Wide! That kept quite low. Down the leg side, Karthik couldn't hold on to it and the batsmen take one as a result. |
| Y Chahal to K Mendis, SIX! Poor length and Kusal Mendis has punished that! Half-tracker on the stumps, Mendis uses the depth of the crease well before positioning himself for the big pull. Right off the meat, it goes sailing into the mid-wicket stands. |
| 7.6 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Dot ball to end the over, but it's a big one for Sri Lanka. 17 off it. Kusal Mendis plays this full ball back to the bowler. |
| A slight delay in play. Kusal Mendis is having a change of bats and there is some distraction in front of the sightscreen. Being sorted out now. |
| 8.1 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Driven through mid off by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 8.2 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Innovative stuff from Mendis. Fuller well outside off, the right-hander moves a long way across and scoops it over the keeper's head. Thakur at fine leg moves to his right and makes a good diving stop. Just two runs taken. |
| 8.3 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Clever from Shankar. Takes the pace off it as he bowls this short. Mendis is early into the pull as the ball hits him on the body. |
| 8.4 : V Shankar to K Mendis, Two Wides! Banged in short but it's too short, goes over Mendis and the keeper. The batsmen take a single. |
| V Shankar to U Tharanga, 'Round the wicket, seeing Tharanga making room Shankar follows him. Cramps him for room and beats the outside edge. |
| 8.5 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, FOUR! A juicy full toss outside off, Upul Tharanga accepts the freebie with delight as he smacks it over the covers. Beats the man in the deep, picks up a good boundary. With that, the 50-run stand between these two is up. |
| 8.6 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Angling back in on middle and leg, worked in front of square on the leg side. The batsman run hard and come back for the second. Nicely done. |
| Jaydev Unadkat is brought back into the attack. India need a wicket, he could just be the man to provide that. |
| 9.1 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, Slanting across on a good length, around off, Mendis looks to make connection and misses. |
| 9.2 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, Outside off on a length, opens the face of the bat before guiding it down to third man. Single taken. |
| 9.3 : J Unadkat to U Tharanga, Beaten! Excellent delivery. Well bowled. Drops it on a length just outside off, makes it go away ever so slightly and beats the outside edge of Upul Tharanga's bat who tries to have a feel for it. |
| 9.4 : J Unadkat to U Tharanga, Jagging back in, just behind a length, Tharanga is taken a bit by surprise due to the extra bounce. Take a blow high on the thigh pads. |
| 9.5 : J Unadkat to U Tharanga, Fraction straight in line, worked square on the leg side. One run to the total. |
| 9.6 : J Unadkat to K Mendis, SIX! THAT'S HUUUUUGGGEEEEE!!!! The boy is on fire tonight. Leaving nothing to chance, smashing everything so well. Short ball, Mendis moves across and swings hard. Hits it high into the night sky and then deep into the square leg stands. The man in the deep can only watch that go away. |
| 10.1 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Just over the bowler! Good length delivery, it's the cross seam, Tharanga looks to drive but gets it off the splice straight back from where it came. Shankar leaps and tries to catch it but the ball evades him. It rolls towards long off and the batsmen collect a double. |
| 10.2 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Upul walks way across to play the scoop but Shankar keeps it full and outside leg. The batter misses his attempted shot and the umpire doesn't call it a wide and rightly so. |
| 10.3 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, Back of a length delivery on middle and off, Tharanga has an ugly slog at it only to get beaten. |
| 10.4 : V Shankar to U Tharanga, OUT! You miss and I hit stuff! India finally have the breakthrough as they manage to break the 62-run stand! Rohit Sharma is all smiles! Shankar bowls another cross seam delivery, angling it in on middle, Tharanga comes down the track to slog across the line but misses and sees his furniture shattered. To be honest, Upul that wasn't needed. You just have to rotate the strike and let the man at the other end do the hitting job. |
| The skipper, Thisara Perera is the new man in, replacing Tharanga. |
| 10.5 : V Shankar to T Perera, SIX! What a start for Perera! He's not going to hold back and that is why he has promoted himself up the order! Stays put to a length delivery and swings it flat over deep backward square leg to open his account. |
| 10.6 : V Shankar to T Perera, SIX! Thisara Perera means business! Back-to-back maximums for him. Shankar pitches it up but in his arc, TP clears the front leg and just lifts it cleanly over long off. India break the stand but Sri Lanka still manage to get 14 from the over. |
| 11.1 : S Thakur to K Mendis, Fuller on off, Kusal shuffles a bit and flicks it off his pads towards fine leg. Moves to 49 with that. |
| 11.2 : S Thakur to T Perera, Good length delivery on the stumps, Perera hits it over the bowler's head. Raina from long on hares across to his right and stops it with a slide. They take two. |
| 11.3 : S Thakur to T Perera, Inside edge! Thakur knows that anything in the arc and he will be hit out of the park. So what he does is he smartly bowls it wider outside off, on a length. Thisara in this mood wants to have a go at everything. Ekes out a thick inside edge on the back pad as the ball rolls beside the pitch. Kusal wanted a single but Shardul is quick to get to the ball to deny them. |
| 11.4 : S Thakur to T Perera, Nudged towards the man at short fine leg for a single. |
| 11.5 : S Thakur to K Mendis, Mistimed but doesn't cost anything! Kusal Mendis reaches his 4th T20I fifty and you know what? This is his 4th 50-plus score in the last five innings. That's some form. Gets across to a short ball and mistimes the pull towards deep mid-wicket and gets to the other end. |
| 11.6 : S Thakur to T Perera, OUT! Thisara's show is over! Well, you live by the sword and die by it goes the saying here. Thakur bowls a slower full ball outside off, Perera swings wildly but is deceived by the lack of pace on it. Gets a big top edge which balloons high up in the air over extra cover. Chahal backtracks, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a well-judged reverse cup catch. |
| Jeevan Mendis is the new man in. Sri Lanka looking to maintain the left hand-right hand combo? Anyway, Yuzvendra Chahal is back as well. |
| 12.1 : Y Chahal to J Mendis, Around middle and off, pushed towards cover. |
| 12.2 : Y Chahal to J Mendis, A bit short outside off, pulled towards long on for a single. |
| 12.3 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Quicker and wider outside off, Kusal doesn't play at it thinking it to be called as a wide but nothing from the umpire. |
| 12.4 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Good running, actually good game awareness as well! Kusal Mendis fetches this from outside off and sweeps it towards Sundar at deep mid-wicket who fumbles. Seeing this, he quickly calls for another and completes it with ease. |
| 12.5 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Slower ball outside off, Mendis looks to cut but gets a bottom edge towards the off side. |
| 12.6 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, Works it through the gap at mid-wicket and will keep strike. Just 4 from the this over, good one for India. |
| Washington Sundar to bowl out. |
| 13.1 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Dipping full toss on middle and leg, milked down to long on for one. |
| 13.2 : W Sundar to J Mendis, OUT! Bowled 'em! Sundar is having a good outing as he picks up his second wicket of the game. In fact, my colleague reminds me that it's his first non-Kusal wicket in this format. Tosses it up bravely on the stumps, Jeevan Mendis makes room to drive it away, expecting it to turn away but this one doesn't and just goes straight on. Beats the inside edge and hits the middle stick. |
| Dasun Shanaka is the new man in. |
| 13.3 : W Sundar to D Shanaka, Slower one outside off, blocked. |
| 13.4 : W Sundar to D Shanaka, Quicker and flatter through the air, Dasun comes forward to defend but it beats the outside edge of his bat. |
| 13.5 : W Sundar to D Shanaka, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 13.6 : W Sundar to K Mendis, Comes down the track and pushes it to long on by taking it on the full. Gets one to end the over. Sundar finishes with figures of 4-021-2, outstanding! |
| 14.1 : Y Chahal to K Mendis, OUT! Another one departs! What's going on Sri Lanka? Will a collapse follow? Chahal drops it on a shorter length, it's the leg break. Kusal Mendis camps back to cut but isn't too keen to play with full heart. Gets it off the toe end of the bat and Rohit Sharma at cover accepts a dolly. The hosts are losing their way now. |
| 0.0 : Akila Dananjaya walks out next. |
| 14.2 : Y Chahal to A Dananjaya, Fuller delivery on middle, worked towards mid-wicket. |
| 14.3 : Y Chahal to A Dananjaya, Tossed up outside off, driven down to long off and will collect one to get going. |
| 14.4 : Y Chahal to D Shanaka, Wide! That's spun a long way! Tossed up around off, Shanaka gets down to play the big slog but the ball pitches and keeps turning away past his bat. The umpire calls it a wide. |
| Y Chahal to D Shanaka, Uses his feet and eases it to long off for one more. |
| 14.5 : Y Chahal to A Dananjaya, Around middle and off, turning back in, Akila is cramped for room as he just manages to stab it out. |
| 14.6 : Y Chahal to A Dananjaya, Gets across and works it towards the leg side. 4-0-34-1 for Chahal, good comeback from him after getting hit for a way too many in his first two overs. |
| Suresh Raina into the attack now. This is interesting move from Rohit. |
| 15.1 : S Raina to D Shanaka, Wide! Starts off with a wide ball down the leg side, Dasun misses his clip and it's a good take from Karthik behind. |
| S Raina to D Shanaka, Flatter one on middle and leg, tucked towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 15.2 : S Raina to A Dananjaya, Very full on middle and off, knocked down to long off for a single. |
| 15.3 : S Raina to D Shanaka, Goes back and wrists it through backward square leg for a single. |
| 15.4 : S Raina to A Dananjaya, Full and straight on off, Akila lunges ahead and drives it towards Rohit at cover. |
| 15.5 : S Raina to A Dananjaya, Flighted delivery, slower one around middle, AD drives it to long on to pick up a single. |
| 15.6 : S Raina to D Shanaka, That was a quick one from Raina! Just 6 coming off it. Flatter ball on middle and leg, worked around the corner for a single by Shanaka. |
| Shardul Thakur is back. He has given 15 in the 2 overs that he has bowled so far. |
| 16.1 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, FOUR! Nicely done! Thakur comes from over the wicket and drops it on a back of a length outside off, Shanaka makes room and at the last moment opens the face of his bat to guide it fine down to third man for a boundary. A much-needed one. |
| 16.2 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, Shortish and on the body, pulled behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| 16.3 : S Thakur to A Dananjaya, Almost another blinder from Raina! He picked one earlier this evening and nearly got another. Slower back of a length ball outside off, from around the wicket, Dananjaya backs away to go over cover but the ball gets big on him. He gets it off the high portion of the bat towards mid off. Raina there times his leap to perfection and tries to pluck it with his right hand out but the ball doesn't stick. They take a single. But what an effort! Really appreciated! |
| 16.4 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, Yorker outside off, Shanaka fails to dig it out. |
| 16.5 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, Bowls a knuckle delivery outside off, Dasun looks to push it away but the slowness on the ball takes the outside edge and goes on the bounce to the keeper behind. |
| 16.6 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, Driven towards the mid on region. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| Jaydev Unadkat to bowl the 18th over. |
| 17.1 : J Unadkat to D Shanaka, Fuller and on the stumps, dragged off the inner half through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 17.2 : J Unadkat to A Dananjaya, Shortish delivery outside off, Akila backs away and ramps it over the point fielder for a single. |
| 17.3 : J Unadkat to D Shanaka, Wide! On a length and just past the tramline the umpire is spot on as he spots it and stretches both his hands. |
| J Unadkat to D Shanaka, SIX! Off the meat! Brilliant from Dasun, took everyone by surprise there! He anticipated Unadkat to bowl another slower delivery and was up for it. Waits deep in the crease and bludgeons it over extra cover for a maximum all the way. |
| 17.4 : J Unadkat to D Shanaka, Shortish on middle, pulled along the ground towards deep square leg for a single. |
| 17.5 : J Unadkat to A Dananjaya, Bangs in a short one, poor Akila swings hard at it but only connects with thin air. 10 off the five balls, can Unadkat finish well? |
| 17.6 : J Unadkat to A Dananjaya, OUT! Yes, he does! Good catch from KL Rahul. Jaydev with another slower ball on the stumps, Akila Dananjaya swings again but the bat turns in his hands at the point of impact. Still travels towards long on but only as far as KL Rahul who is waiting there. He takes it easily. |
| Suranga Lakmal is in next. |
| 18.1 : S Thakur to S Lakmal, FOUR! A boundary to begin the final over and it's 150 up for Sri Lanka with that! Gets across to a back of a length ball and hits it over mid on for a boundary. |
| 18.2 : S Thakur to S Lakmal, Slower ball outside off, Lakmal gives it a full swing of his bat but doesn't connect. |
| What has happened here? There's a run out appeal being sent upstairs. In fact, it's for obstructing the field. The soft signal is Not out though! |
| 18.3 : S Thakur to S Lakmal, NOT OUT! Why did the Indians appeal for it in first place? Another delivery having no pace behind it, served wider outside off. Suranga Lakmal swings and misses. His partner calls him through for a bye and he obliges. Karthik collects the ball and has a shy at the striker's end but he misses. It then goes on to hit Lakmal and the Indians feel that the Lankan pacer has deliberately tried to come in the way as the ball otherwise would have gone to Thakur. It's taken ups |
| 18.4 : S Thakur to D Shanaka, OUT! Knuckle delivery on off, Shanaka is early into his shot and gets an edge. Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps accepts a regulation catch. |
| Dushmantha Chameera is next. |
| 18.5 : S Thakur to D Chameera, OUT! Two-in-two for Thakur! The knuckle ball is working well for him. He's on a hat-trick now. Chameera gets across and swings as hard as he can. Gets beaten by the slowness on the ball, gets a top edge and Jaydev Unadkat at short third man takes it comfortably. |
| Nuwan Pradeep to face the hat-trick ball. |
| 18.6 : S Thakur to S Lakmal, Shardul Thakur almost had another! He has his hands on his head and eventually starts to head back. Another slower delivery on the stumps, Suranga Lakmal looks to go big but squirts it off the inner half down to fine leg to end the innings with a single. SRI LANKA FINISH WITH 152/9! |
| Good comeback from the Indians after being swatted around the park in the first 10 overs. Sri Lanka were off to a flier and the fact that they hit 11 off the very first over of the game proves the point. However, once Gunathilaka departed, the threatening Kusal Perera didn't last long either and it seemed like India are back in it. That wasn't the case as Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga then took it forward and joined forces to continue the assault. |
| Mendis got to his fifty in the process and the duo amassed 62-run stand for the third wicket before Tharanga was dismissed. The wicket of the southpaw saw Thisara Perera getting a promotion and boy, he came out all guns blazing. His cameo was cut short and that led to a collapse. Sri Lanka couldn't recover as the kept losing wickets in their bid to get to a big total which saw them managing just 2 more of 150 in the end. |
| The Indians will be really elated heading into the break and they need to thank their bowlers for pulling things back. Washington Sundar was superb while Yuzvendra Chahal too did well to keep the pressure. Towards the end the pacers through their knuckle balls never let the lower middle order take the game away. Shardul Thakur picked up a 4-fer while the other too got one apiece. It's a good wicket to bat on and the visitors should fancy themselves to chase this down. Unless, of course if the ho |
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