India thrash Sri Lanka in Dhoni’s den to level T20 series

India thrash Sri Lanka in Dhoni’s den to level T20 series

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Image Courtesy: © Facebook - Sri Lanka cricket

Avenging the embarrassing defeat they suffered in the first T20I at Pune, India defeated Sri Lanka by 69 runs in the second T20I at Ranchi on Friday to level the series 1-1. The hosts registered a huge score of 196 batting first before stifling the opposition for 127/9 with Ashwin taking three wickets.

Brief Scores: India 196/6 in 20 overs (Dhawan 51(25), Rohit 43(36), Raina 30(19), Perera 3/33) beat Sri Lanka 127/9 in 20 overs (Kapugedera 32 (27), Ashwin 3/14, Bumrah 2/17) by 69 runs

Chasing 197, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start losing opener Dilshan and Seekkuge Prasanna cheaply within the first two overs. A lightning-fast stumping from Dhoni off Ashwin sent back the dangerous Dilshan in the first over before Nehra removed Prasanna with his first ball. The Lankans went three down in the fourth over after a thin edge from Gunathilaka found its way to Dhoni’s gloves to register Nehra’s second wicket.

Skipper Chandimal and Kapugedera steadied the innings from there on by adding singles and twos with spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh keeping a tight leash on the scoring rate. Needing 138 runs in the last ten overs after scoring just 59 in the initial ten, the Lankan batsmen decided to take the aerial route in search of the target. Kapugedera almost gave away his wicket in the next over to Yuvraj after Rohit took a magnificent catch at long-off, only to find in replay that it had touched the ground before entering his hand.

The Lankan never looked comfortable with his aerial shots and finally perished to Jadeja in the next over gifting a catch to Hardik Pandya at long-on. In the next ball, Dhoni produced yet another lightning-fast stumping to remove Chandimal to finish off Sri Lanka’s hopes of a victory. Dasun Shanaka and Siriwardana tried their best with some lusty blows but it was never enough as they ended their innings at 127/9 to suffer a 69-run defeat to the Indians.

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Earlier, similar to the last game, Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and put India into bat with veteran Tillakaratne Dilshan coming into the team for Dickwella. The hosts remained unchanged even after suffering an embarrassing defeat in the first T20I at Pune and kept faith with all-rounder Hardik Pandya by resisting the temptation to play spinner Pawan Negi.

The first ball was a gentle delivery outside the off stump, and Rohit smashed it one bounce over the point boundary. The statement had been made - the first match was an aberration, and this was no green pitch.

Dhawan also joined his partner in utilising the pace of the ball this time sending Thisara Perera over the deep midwicket for a maximum with a ‘Sanath Jayasuriya-esque’ shot. With no grass on the pitch or even on the ground, Chandimal opted for Senanayake’s off-spin in the third over to curtail the scoring. But another six from Dhawan welcomed him to the bowling as India looked a completely different side on the batting-friendly track at Ranchi.

By the end of the fourth over, Kasun Rajitha, who had picked two wickets for ten runs in his two overs at Pune, had suffered the wrath of Dhawan’s bat, with the left-hander sending the Sri Lankan to the ropes for three back-to-back boundaries. The carnage didn’t stopped there as India notched up 70 runs in the powerplay, and within two balls the Delhi southpaw brought up his maiden fifty in T20I, also his best score in the format. However, he returned to the pavilion in the same over as Chameera found the edge of the bat with a short ball to put the ball in Chandimals’ gloves.

With Dhawan back in the pavilion, India’s scoring rate dipped below the 10-run mark as Rahane and Rohit looked for singles and twos to move the innings forward. Spinners Seekkuge Prasanna and Siriwardana kept the hosts on a tight leash from overs 7 to 12 with only 40 runs coming off it. With India needing quick runs, the onus was on Rohit Sharma, but Chameera, who returned for his second spell after removing Dhawan, sent him back off his first ball with a diving return catch. Rahane followed soon as the Men in Blue looked out of sorts with the ball getting old.

Hardik Pandya came up the order to partner Raina in the crease, and made his intent clear by throwing the kitchen sink at every delivery. He missed some but, when he connected, it went many a mile to give a much-needed jolt to the scoring rate. Suresh Raina also joined his inexperienced partner in upping the run rate by smashing Chameera for 18 runs in the 18th over. India looked set for a 200+ score before Thisara Perrera removed Pandya, Raina, and Yuvraj in back-to-back deliveries to claim the fourth hat-trick in T20I history. The crowd chanted hometown hero Dhoni’s name in the last over expecting the helicopter shot, but it never arrived as India finished for 196/6 in 20 overs.

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