Ind vs SL 1st T20I: Suryakumar Yadav-Gautam Gambhir Regime Starts With 43-Run Win Against Sri Lanka
NDTV
Invited to bat, India posted an imposing 213 for seven and then bowled the hosts out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
New captain Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with a breathtaking half-century as India comfortably out-batted Sri Lanka by 43 runs in the opening T20 International to start the Gautam Gambhir era with a victory in Pallekele on Saturday. It was India skipper Suryakumar's 26-ball 58 and a 74-run opening blitzkrieg in just six overs between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill that took India to 213 for 7. Despite a fine batting effort from the Sri Lankans till the 15th over, the Indian bowlers did well enough to bowl out the home team for 170 in 19.2 overs.
The Indian bowlers did remarkably well towards the back-end, utilising the slowness of the track to provide the team 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The spinners -- Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and rookie Riyan Parag -- snared six of the 10 wickets.
From 149 for 2, Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for just 21 runs as the final quarter of the match was dominated by the Indian bowlers after a listless first 15. Kusal Mendis (45 off 27 balls) and Pathum Nissanka (79 off 47 balls) were not as brutal as their Indian counterparts but close enough to increase the creases on new coach Gautam Gambhir's forehead as they didn't spare any bad balls, getting at least one if not two boundaries per over.
The 84-run opening stand was finally broken by Arshdeep Singh when Mendis couldn't pick the slower one.
However Nissanka didn't lose tempo as Hardik Pandya (0/41 in 4 overs) was clearly not in his element, as he consistently missed his length, making it difficult for the new skipper to look for options.
This comes after Virat Kohli lashed out at Nat Yoannidis, a local journalist upon landing with his family at the Melbourne Airport.
Gary Neville believes Marcus Rashford is approaching the "inevitable ending" of his Manchester United career after the forward was again left out of the matchday squad on Sunday.
On December 20 a Sangeet took place and on the next day there Haldi, Pellikuthuru and Mehendi took place.
After Refusing To Travel To Pakistan, India Will Play Champions Trophy Matches At This Venue: Report
On Thursday, the deadlock over the hosting of Champions Trophy finally ended when the ICC announced that India will play their matches of the 50-over event at a neutral venue.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has revealed how the logic behind the franchise going buying 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the IPL 2025 auction.
Ravindra Jadeja's alleged Hindi-only press conference has triggered a huge controversy, prompting a press match to be cancelled.
PM Narendra Modi thanked Ravichandran Ashwin for his exemplary services to the game of cricket and his country as the latter decided to retire from international cricket.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi continues to break age-records, having already become the youngest player to play a Ranji Trophy game and to represent India U19 prior to this.
Aston Villa beat crisis-hit Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday to heap more misery on floundering manager Pep Guardiola, who has now suffered nine defeats in his past 12 matches.
Ravindra Jadeja addressed a press conference on Saturday ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne
After Ravichandran Ashwin decided to bid goodbye to an illustrious cricket career, Prithi Narayanan revealed in a long emotional post about what it was to see one of the greatest cricketers of the generation from such close quarters