Finally, a clean sweep. India won the T20 series against Sri Lanka 3-0. The Gautam Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav partnership stole the show.
On Tuesday, the game ended in the Super Over in just three balls. The first ball was a wide. The next two balls saw the dismissals of Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka. Washington Sundar shone in the first match of the series.
The Indian all-rounder took two wickets in the first three balls of the Super Over. India needed just three runs to win the Super Over. Suryakumar finished the game with a boundary on the first ball. From a certain loss to a victory, Gautam Gambhir began his campaign with a win. Sri Lanka lost 9 wickets for just 30 runs.
India, batting first, scored 137 runs losing 8 wickets. In response, Sri Lanka also reached 137 runs for the loss of 9 wickets on the last ball of their innings. The match went into the Super Over, but in the end, Gambhir smiled. Sri Lanka once again let a winning match slip away.
Despite a good start in a low run chase, Jayasuriya’s team lost their way in the middle. On the other hand, India came back from the brink in the last two matches.
On Tuesday, the batting collapse happened right at the start. Apart from Shubman Gill, the top order failed. India lost 5 wickets for just 48 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), Sanju Samson (0), Rinku Singh (1), and Suryakumar Yadav (8) all failed to score. Shivam Dube (13) also failed. Shubman alone held on to his wicket, scoring 39 runs off 37 balls with three fours.
Riyan Parag and Washington Sundar, coming in at numbers seven and eight, added crucial runs. Parag scored 26 runs off 18 balls, and Sundar made 25 runs off an equal number of deliveries. There were multiple changes in the batting order that day. Rishabh Pant was rested. Sanju and Rinku came in at numbers three and four but failed.
Sri Lanka started well again while chasing the runs. Like the previous two matches, the top order scored runs. Pathum Nissanka (26) and Kusal Mendis (43) added 58 runs for the first wicket. Kusal Perera, coming at one down, also scored runs but missed his half-century by a whisker. He got out for 46 runs off 34 balls. At one point, it seemed like Sri Lanka would reach the winning score easily.
However, apart from the top three batters, the rest failed. The middle order completely flopped. Like the previous match, no one reached double figures. From an easy win, it turned into a hard-fought draw. Sri Lanka matched India’s score on the last ball.
The match went into the Super Over, but even then, they couldn’t save it. On this day, Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav were also seen with the ball. Both bowled one over each and took two wickets.
