Suryakumar stole the spotlight in the first innings by showcasing a captain-like performance, scoring a much-needed half-century.
Suryakumar Yadav created havoc in his full-time leadership debut, scoring 58 runs from just 26 deliveries. India began playing a confronting T20I cricket, and it appears that little has changed under Surya’s captaincy; things are the way when Rohit Sharma was the captain.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir, who just led the Kolkata Knight Riders to win the IPL 2024, understands the significance of playing aggressively, and his players delivered.
Men in Blue left a target of 214 runs after Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field first.
The two openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal laid the groundwork for Suryakumar to attack the bowlers immediately. Gill and Jaiswal combined for 76 runs, all of which came on the powerplay, giving India a significant edge.
Notably, Jaiswal scored 40 runs off 21 deliveries, while Gill hit 34 runs off 16 deliveries. Following their expulsion, the Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar show began.
The 26-year-old keeper-batter knew his role and played appropriately. Pant scored 29 runs in his last 13 deliveries, helping India score 213 runs in the first innings. Pant would be unhappy in himself for failing to close things off as he left in the 19th over.
The aim after that was to finish strong, which is where India failed. Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh did not contribute much when batting at number eight, but Axar Patel looked in fantastic form.
Pant performed the position of anchor, like what Virat Kohli used to do in Twenty20 Internationals.
Matheesha Pathirana had an excellent evening for Sri Lanka, taking four wickets. On a surface that favoured the batsmen, the pacer would be pleased with his performance but would also like to reduce his economy, which was 10 in the first T20I.
Also Read - India W Enters the Asia Cup 2024 Final After Defeating Bangladesh
ScoreWaves © 2024 Copyright. All Rights Reserved.