In the third T20I of the Sri Lanka tour of India 2023, the Men in Blue won by 91 runs to seal their first series victory of 2023.
Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first. India yet again lost one of its openers cheaply, this time it was Ishan Kishan who succumbed to the swinging delivery in the first over itself. After an early wicket, Rahul Tripathi (35) lit up the stadium as he started smashing boundaries in the powerplay. Tripathi’s cameo came to an end just before the conclusion of the powerplay but his fiery knock put India in a good position after six overs. The in-form Suryakumar Yadav (112*) walked out to bat and without taking much time to settle in he started taking on the bowlers. Shubman Gill, on the other end, was struggling to get going so he stuck around for his 46 off 36 deliveries. While the other batters prolonged to struggle on the pitch, Suryakumar played a gem of an inning as he went on to score a magnificent century. Yadav’s wonderful knock helped India accelerate in the middle overs while Axar Patel‘s valuable cameo enabled the hosts to finish with 228 runs on the board.
In the defence, the Indian bowlers leaked runs in the initial overs and gave away 51 runs in the powerplay along with picking two wickets. The momentum shifted towards India in the middle overs as the home team started pocketing wickets at regular intervals. The Indian team bundled out the Lankans for 137 within 17 overs and clinched the game by a massive margin of 91 runs.
Sri Lanka started the chase well, the openers stitched a quick 44-run partnership within the first five overs. The Lankans were moving towards the target at a steady pace but couldn’t stop the flow of wickets. The lack of partnerships only allowed the tourists to score 137.
Arshdeep Singh pocketed three wickets while Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and Umran Malik had two wickets each. Axar had one wicket to his name.
For the Lankans, Dilshan Madhushanka got two scalps while Wanindu Hasaranga and Kasun Rajitha had one wicket each.
Suryakumar was named the Man of the Match for his terrific 112* off 51 balls with nine maximums and seven boundaries. Axar was adjudged Man of the Series for scoring 117 runs throughout the series at an average of 117 along with gathering three wickets.
Scorecard:
India: 228/5, Overs 20, Suryakumar Yadav 112*, Dilshan Madhushanka 2/55
Sri Lanka: 137/10, Overs 16.4, Kusal Mendis 23, Arshdeep Singh 3/20