(Cricket news) India took a 1-0 lead by defeating Sri Lanka by 62 runs in the 1st T20I. It was a dominant Indian performance against a Sri Lankan side who were missing 2 key players. Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field first. Ruturaj Gaikwad was supposed to play the game but was ruled out because of a wrist injury he sustained in training which led to Deepak Hooda making his T20I debut.
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started the game in fantastic fashion as they put together 11 runs in the first 12 overs. Rohit Sharma was dismissed after scoring 44 off 32 balls while Ishan Kishan scored 89 off 56 balls. Rohit unlike his usual self hit only 2 fours and a six, Ishan Kishan on the other hand hit 10 boundaries and 3 maximums. Shreyas Iyer batting at number 3 scored an incredible 25 ball 50 consisting of 5 fours and 2 sixes to take India to a total of 199. The biggest challenge of playing at the Ekana Stadium is the sheer size of it. It is considerably bigger than every ground in India which makes it difficult to clear the rope. The number of opportunities for batters to get doubles and triples increases which leads to them tiring out sooner. All three of Rohit, Kishan and Shreyas did really well to run quick between wickets and find the gaps.
The Lankans got off to a worst possible start as they lost Pathum Nissanka on the very first ball. No batter apart from Charith Asalanka who scored an unbeaten 53 off 47 balls looked comfortable at the crease. The Indians bowled really well, making use of the massive target posted by their batter. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 2 wickets from his 2 overs, giving away only 9 runs. The massive target meant that Rohit Sharma could use all 7 bowling options. Venkatesh Iyer picked up 2 wickets while Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a scalp each.
India have a big chance to once again seal the series in the next game and inflict their 3rd consecutive whitewash in T20Is. The fans will be hoping that Ruturaj Gaikwad can recover before the next match and find a place in the playing XI. The next two encounters will be in Dharamshala which will pose a completely different challenge for the Indian side.
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