India defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second of three T20I series at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. With this, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side has clinched the series by 2-0 as of now.
Winning the toss, India elected to field and restricted Sri Lanka to mark a total of 183 runs in 20 overs. The opening batsmen of Sri Lanka played the first eight overs of the innings and contributed 67 runs for their team. Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Danushka Gunathilaka (38) in the ninth over, after which the middle-order batsmen of Sri Lanka were sent back earlier. Charith Asalanka (2), Kamil Mishara (1) and Dinesh Chandimal (9) were dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah respectively. However, the opening batsman – Pathum Nissanka and Dasun Shanaka together contributed in the middle and death overs to help Sri Lanka post 184 runs target on the scoreboard. Although, Nissanka was dismissed at 75 runs by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while Shanaka played an unbeaten 47 runs off 19 balls innings, gathering 23 runs off the last over – bowled by Harshal Patel.
Chasing the target, the Indian opening batsmen – Rohit Sharma (1) and Ishan Kishan (19) were dismissed cheaply in the early overs by Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara respectively. However, Shreyas Iyer (37) and Sanju Samson (16) played a 53 runs partnership off 37 balls for the third wicket. Sanju Samson was then sent back to the pavilion by Lahiru Kumara at 39 runs. Coming third down to the crease, Ravindra Jadeja along with Shreyas Iyer chased down the 183-runs target scoring an unbeaten 45 and 74 runs respectively in 17.1 overs.
The player of the match was awarded to Shreyas Iyer for his spectecular match-winning 74-runs knock. This win helped India to clinch the 7th straight T20I series on home soil. Also, this was India’s 11th straight victory in a row. With this, Rohit Sharma broke the world record for winning the highest T20Is as skipper at home with 16 wins.
