India comfortably beat Sri Lanka by 62 runs in the first T20 International here on Thursday, February 24, 2022.
Batting first, IPL’s costliest buy Ishan Kishan plundered a career-best 56-ball-89 while Shreyas Iyer helped himself to an unbeaten 57 off 28 balls as India scored 199 for two and then restricted Sri Lanka to 137 for six.
Skipper Rohit Sharma also got 44 off 32 balls as Sri Lankan bowlers, without world’s premier leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, were taken to cleaners by Indian batters.
Kishan had 10 fours and three sixes in his innings while Iyer hit five fours and two sixes.
In bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/9), Venkatesh Iyer (2/36) got their share of wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal (1/11 in 3 overs) also bowled well.
Brief Scores:
India: 199 for 2 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 89, Shreyas Iyer 57 not out; Dasun Shanaka 1/19). Sri Lanka: 137 for 6 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 53 not out, Venkatesh Iyer 2/36, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/9). P
Earlier, opener Ishan Kishan sizzled with a blistering 56-ball 89 before Shreyas Iyer blazed his way to a whirlwind unbeaten 57 as India posted a challenging 199 for 2 against Sri Lanka in the opening T20I of the three-match series here on Thursday.
The left-handed batter, who failed to capitalise on his starts in the preceding white-ball series against West Indies, finally lived up to his multi-million dollar IPL tag with a whirlwind innings studded with 10 hits to the fence and three sixes. The 23-year-old from Jharkhand forged a 111-run innings for the opening wicket with his skipper Rohit Sharma (44 off 32) to put India on course for a formidable total after being invited to bat first.
Iyer then grabbed the opportunity with both hands, smashing five fours and two sixes in 28 balls to take India to a huge total.
Ishan Kishan was the aggressor among the two openers as he exploded in the third over, making Chamika Karunaratne pay for erring in his line and length with three boundaries as India amassed 15 runs from the over.
Lahiru Kumara bowled with a lot of pace but Ishan came up with two good-looking shots -- one a pull on the front foot which went over the ropes and the other one a flick across the mid-wicket boundary.
Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama was next hammered for a four, while a short ball from Chameera was deposited into the stands as Kishan continued his demolition act which yielded 58 in the powerplay.
Sri Lanka was also guilty of dropping Ishan with spinner Jeffrey Vandersay spilling him on his own bowling in the 7th over.
The left-hander soon went on to score his second T20 fifty as India amassed 98 off 10 overs.
Playing second fiddle, skipper Rohit ran the ones and twos hard and picked up two fours along with a cracking slog-sweep over mid-wicket for a six. Six runs short of a half-century, Rohit was done in by a slow delivery from Lahiru Kumara in the 12th over as as Sri Lanka tried to put breaks.
Ishan Kishan got another reprieve when he had edged one from Vandersay and the ball made its way to the boundary. After two tight overs, Kishan slapped one over long-on for a maximum and then sent Lahiru Kumara across the third man and deep mid-wicket boundaries as India racked up 17 runs.
Sri Lanka’s agony was escalated by their pedestrian bowling in the death overs as Shreyas Iyer took them to the cleaners with the last three overs yielded 44 runs.
