(Football news) India edged Sri Lanka by 2 runs to win the 1st T20I. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bowl first citing the dew factor. Indian skipper Hardik Pandya at the toss said that even though it is better to chase at the Wankhede, he would’ve batted first anyway to challenge the side. Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill were handed their first T20I caps. Arshdeep Singh wasn’t available for selection due to illness. Axar Patel was preferred as the all-rounder ahead of Washington Sundar. Sri Lanka on the other hand left out Lahiru Kumara and Avishka Fernando.
Batting first, India were given a decent start by Ishan Kishan but it soon detailed. Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson were dismissed in quick succession before the end of the powerplay. Ishan Kishan played a decent knock of 37 off 29 balls but he couldn’t convert it into a big innings. Hardik Pandya got off to a good start but was dismissed on 29. Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda came in with India in trouble but the pair managed to bail their side out.
Hooda played an incredible knock of 41 off 23 balls which earned him the player of the match award. He paced his innings beautifully hitting 1 four and 4 massive sixes. Axar Patel scored a quickfire 31 off 20 balls which helped India go past the 160 mark. Sri Lanka’s world class spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana bowled really well as they got a wicket each. Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dilshan Madhushanka also chipped in with a wicket each. Sri Lanka did really well to not let India get away and they executed their plans perfectly.
The target of 163 was chase-able for Sri Lanka but the Indian bowlers showed their quality. Skipper Hardik Pandya led from the front as he took the new ball and bowled 3 consecutive overs. The seamer conceded only 12 runs but couldn’t complete his quota due to cramps. Shivam Mavi on debut bowled beautifully as he took 4 wickets. Opener Kusal Mendis got off to a good start but was dismissed by Harshal Patel.
Sri Lanka looked out of the game but their captain Shanaka brought them back into it with his 27 ball 45. Chamika Karunaratne produced late fireworks to take the game to the last ball. Needing 4 off the last delivery he could only manage a single as India won the game. Umran Malik with his raw pace got 2 very crucial wickets while Harshal Patel despite being expensive for 2 scalps.
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