Cuttack: KL Rahul’s impactful comeback knock combined with Yuzvendra Chahal’s magic handed India a massive 93-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the three match series on Wednesday in Cuttack. This is also India’s biggest ever victory in T20Is.
While both the Test and ODI series had actually begun on a shaky note for India, the T20I series opener was a perfect example of the fact that there has been just one team, who has dictated proceeding so far. Batting first, India posted 180 runs on the board courtesy a stunning six from the bat of MS Dhoni who showed that he still had it all in the shortest format.
After stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma was sent back to the pavilion for just 17 by Angelo Mathews, Rahul took control and didn’t let this opportunity go to waste as he not only took the fight to the opposition but also helped in building a solid platform to be capitalized upon by the batsmen coming after him. His 61 of 48 deliveries contained seven fours and one huge six.
But it was a gritty 39* of 22 deliveries by Dhoni which helped India post a strong total on the board. The veteran right-hander hit a total of four fours and one six but the highlight of his innings was the quick singles and twos which kept the scoreboard ticking when the boundaries weren’t coming. He was ably supported by Manish Pandey who made a quickfire 32 from 18 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Jaydev Unadkat then gave a perfect start with the ball as the left-arm speedster dismissed Niroshan Dickwella for 13 runs in the very second over. This momentum was capitalised upon by the young leggie Chahal who scalped four crucial wickets-Upul Tharanga (23), Angelo Mathews (1), Asela Gunaratne (4) and skipper Thisara Perera (3) which completely floored the Lankans.
Hardik Pandya also bowled well as he ended up with three wickets for 29 runs. Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav also had two scalps to his name in what can be termed as a complete performance by the hosts.
Brief scores–
Sri Lanka 87 all out (Upul Tharanga 23, Kusal Perera 19; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/23) lost to India 180/3 (KL Rahul 61, MS Dhoni 39 n.o; Angelo Mathews 1/19) by 93 runs