New recruits Kasun Rajitha and Dasun Shanaka picked up 3 wickets apiece to bundle out the strong Indian batting lineup for just 101 in the 1st T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune today.
Sri Lanka’s stand-in skipper Dinesh Chandimal decided to field first after winning the toss, hoping to make use of the green pitch early on. His bowlers did not disappoint as debutant Rajitha picked up his 1st wicket in international cricket in just his 2nd delivery; he had Rohit Sharma caught down the ground off a full delivery outside the off stump. Rajitha completed his first over in international cricket with another wicket when he had Ajinkya Rahane fending off a short delivery.
A brief period of resistance followed during which Danushka Gunathilake dropped Suresh Raina off the bowling of Rajitha. For a while it looked like the miss would come back to haunt the Sri Lankans as Raina smashed Rajitha for a 4 and a 6 in his 3rd over, but the youngster replied with the wicket of Shikar Dhawan as Gunathilake made amends for his drop by hanging on to a high ball at third man.
Yuvraj Singh dazzled with a trademark six over long on but found the pace and steep bounce of Dushmantha Chameera too good to handle. While Chameera troubled Yuvraj on one end, Raina and MS Dhoni fell in the 9th over of the match as Shanaka came to the party and struck twice in his 1st over. Yuvraj fell in the next over, leaving the Indian innings in tatters at 53/6 at the halfway mark.
Ironically enough, the highest partnership in the Indian innings was between Ravichandran Ashwin and Ashish Nehra who put on 28 for the 9th wicket; Ashwin top scoring with 31. Apart from him, Raina and Yuvraj, none of the other batters even reached double figures as the hosts were bundled out in 18.5 overs.
Rajitha was well supported by Thisara Perera in his opening spell as Chameera and Shanaka wrapped up the Indian innings with 5 wickets between them. The key for the Lankans was the fact that the bowlers were able to make the most of seamer-friendly conditions and pick up wickets at regular intervals.
Chasing a modest target of 102 to take a 1-0 lead in the 3 match series, Sri Lanka started well with the 2nd debutant, Niroshan Dickwella, smashing his 2nd delivery to the boundary. However, his innings was cut short the very next ball as he tried to pull a short delivery from Nehra. Gunathilake showed glimpses of form once again but he too fell to the short ball trap, leaving Sri Lanka in a bit of trouble at 26/2 after 5 overs.
In a team devoid of much experience in the batting lineup, Chamara Kapugedara was sent in at 4 to steady the innings. He and Chandimal put on a partnership of 39 to ensure that Sri Lanka did not collapse. Hard hitting batsman Kapugedara took on a more attacking role while Chandimal looked to play through the innings. Neither batsmen went on to finish the game however, as the Indians pushed towards an unlikely victory.
Chandimal’s dismissal must have made the Sri Lankan camp a little jittery but Milinda Siriwardene carried them through to the target with some smart batting, finishing the game with a six and a four. Unfortunately, the much looked forward to appearance of Shanaka at the crease was short lived as his innings was cut short by a brilliant catch taken by Raina.
The Sri Lankan batsmen did not seem comfortable at the crease but what enabled them to pull off the win was the fact that they were willing to take a few deliveries to settle in, unlike the Indian batters. Sri Lankan fans will be delighted with the way the chase and the game in general was handled by a team that is missing most of its experienced players.
Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India once again, picking up 2/13 in 3 overs. Having said that, one was left to wonder why he was only brought on in the 12th over, when India was defending such a small total.
Indian skipper MS Dhoni suggested that the change in conditions had affected their batting today as coming directly from a series in Australia, they found the pitch in Pune was not what they were used to.
Kasun Rajitha was named man of the match.
The 2nd game will be played on Friday, the 12th at Ranchi.
India – 101 all out (18.5) Ravichandran Ashwin 31, Suresh Raina 20, Dasun Shanaka 3/16, Kasun Rajitha 3/29, Dushmantha Chameera 2/14
Sri Lanka – 105/5 (18) Dinesh Chandimal 35, Chamara Kapugedara 25, Milinda Siriwardena 21, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/13, Ashish Nehra 2/21
Result – Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)
