India vs Sri Lanka | How and where India won the T20I

09/06/2017

India hardly broke a sweat during the only T20 in Colombo as Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey orchestrated a fantastic 7-wicket victory for the visitors to complete a “tourwash”. Even though some of Kohli’s decisions were questionable, they eventually paid off to secure a 9-0 win for India on the tour.

Kohli’s gamble of playing three spinners paid off

It was raining for last 48 hours in Colombo and when the covers came off, it was visible that the pitch was sweating since the covers had been on for a better part of the last 24 hours. The wet surface of the wicket meant that it was not going to hunky-dory for the spinners and a pacer was always going be a good bet for any team. However, India decided to stack their squad with as many as three proper spinners and a part-time spinner in the form of Kedar Jadhav while going with only two pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, contrary to popular belief, it was the pacers who were in the firing line early on as the Sri Lankans made a quick start to the game scoring 31 runs off the first three overs. Kohli made his first change early and brought in Yuzvendra Chahal who after hiccups on the first two balls of the innings, put a stop to the run flow. But it wasn't just Chahal who came to India's rescue. Axar Patel (0/29) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/20) provided the proof that the Indian captain had got his team spot on yet again as the trio were instrumental in restricting the Lankan batsmen to just 59 runs between the 9th and 18th over. That eventually proved to be the difference between India chasing a par score rather than a competitive one.

Yuzvendra Chahal’s intelligence helps him

Virat Kohli wanted Chahal to bowl with the new ball today, but his first two deliveries, full length ones, were audaciously sent into the stands by Dilshan Munaweera. Chahal was quick to realise that the angles and lengths needed to be changed and decided to come over the wicket on the very next ball. The third delivery of the over was a little shorter and Munaweera misread the ball completely as it drifted inwards and deflected off the pads towards short third man. He experimented willfully in his next over - throwing in a couple of leg spinners interspersed with the odd flipper - but most importantly, he deceived dangerous looking Angelo Mathews by drawing him forward by giving the ball some air and got the ball to spin past the outside edge on the drive with MS Dhoni whipping the bails off in a flash. For some reason, he reverted back to bowling full in his third over where Munaweera smoked him for 17 runs. When he was reintroduced in the 14th over, the match situation had changed significantly. The dew had begun to take effect and Chahal was going to be Kohli's last punt with the spinners before his seamers returned. He delivered just what his captain wanted as he not only sent the dangerous Thisara Perera packing but bamboozled Dasun Shanaka before claiming his scalp as well.

Manish Pandey’s versatility comes to the fore

Competition for spots in India's top five is tough, with Kedar Jadhav, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, and Ajinkya Rahane all angling for positions. However, Pandey has made a strong case that he ought to be invested in now after a half-century in his first ODI since October 2016 during the visitors' 168-run win over Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI. In that match what caught the eye was the way he exploited both sides of the wicket equally and did the same thing today as well on his way to score 51 runs off just 36 balls. It was a clear contrast to his reputation of being a leg-side player in the Indian Premier League as he scored 67% of his runs on his "weaker" off side. His partnership with skipper Kohli that yielded 119 runs was the showcase of a player who has become mature enough in recent years to compete on the international stage. With the innings, he has made his case even stronger for a spot in the middle-order.

Lasith Malinga or Bhuvneshwar Kumar? Who will take more wickets?

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