After capturing the ODI series in style, India took on Sri Lanka in the first of the three T20Is at Cuttack.
With heavy dew forecast at night, Sri Lanka skipper Thisara Perera won the toss and elected to field first. The hosts chose Jaydev Unadkat to share the fast-bowling duties with Jasprit Bumrah while KL Rahul returned into the line-up after missing out in the ODI series.
Ultimately, India took a 1-0 lead in the series courtesy of a 93-run win as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 87 runs in reply to India’s total of 180.
Here, we look at the things learnt from India’s win in the first T20I.
KL RAHUL BACK IN THE GROOVE
Rahul was returning to the side after missing out on selection in the ODI series. The opening batsman has been off the boil in the limited-overs formats of late leading to his subsequent dropping.
Shikhar Dhawan’s absence in the T20I afforded Rahul another chance to reaffirm his credentials and he took it with aplomb on Wednesday.
The opener looked in fine nick as he dispatched the ball balls to the boundaries while constantly rotating the strike on others. The 25-year-old brought up his second T20I fifty in a well made 48-ball 61.
Rahul looked back to his best in Wednesday’s outing.
DHONI’S STILL GOT IT
The veteran’s future in the T20I setup has been a hot topic of debate in recent times with many advocating a younger alternative to take the wicket-keeper batsman’s place in the side.
The argument has been that Dhoni’s powerful explosive batting has been on the wane with the former skipper unable to accelerate as well as the team would like.
The 36-year-old turned the clock back in his quick-fire cameo of an unbeaten 39 from 22 balls. The Ranchi man smashed four boundaries and a massive six as he combined with Manish Pandey to power India to a strong finish in the final overs.
Dhoni brought out his power-game in the death overs.
CHAHAL WICKET-TAKING SECOND TO NONE
The leg-spinner has emerged as a preferred option for India in the limited-overs format with his wrist-spin combo with Kuldeep Yadav displacing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from the team.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been in great wicket-taking form in recent times with the white ball against New Zealand and then subsequently against the islanders in the ODIs where he picked up six wickets in the final two games.
He was on song once again on Wednesday as he tore through Sri Lanka’s middle-order with a four-wicket haul that led India’s charge to a huge win.
Chahal broke Sri Lanka’s spine with the important wickets of Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne.
Chahal has emerged as a fine wicket-taking option for India.
SRI LANKA STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO
The tourists were expected to give the hosts a much bigger headache in the shortest format but the same problems continue to plague the side.
The bowlers had a plan to bowl full and wide to the Indian batsmen in the death overs but the execution left a lot to be desired as they erred slightly in line and length. Dhoni and Pandey punished these errors to lead India to a daunting total.
The batting remains a huge concern for Perera’s men with the side once again collapsing in a heap. Only one batsman in Tharanga crossed the 20-run mark highlighting the woes the visitors have faced in the batting department all tour.
Thisara Perera and his men have a long way to go.
