The cool climes of Kandy — sitting at an altitude of 1,400 toes above sea stage, the Pallekele Stadium right here is among the highest worldwide cricket venues on the planet — mixed with a hospitable Sri Lankan aspect offered the right backdrop for India’s 3-0 T20I collection sweep.
Even the normally hard-to-impress Gautam Gambhir was beaming on the presentation ceremony after the third T20I in his first outing because the nationwide group coach. His males had the higher of the house aspect all through, profitable the primary two video games with appreciable ease to safe the collection.
The third match, although, was hardly easy, with India rallying from the precipice of defeat to clinch an unimaginable win, with its skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s management abilities coming to the fore.
Chasing a middling 138 for a comfort win, Sri Lanka wanted simply 9 runs within the final two overs when Suryakumar threw the ball to Rinku Singh, who had by no means bowled on the worldwide stage earlier than. Rinku conceded simply three runs and took two wickets, together with that of hazard man Kusal Perera, who made 46 off 34. That left Sri Lanka needing six from six balls.
With the ball turning a mile, Suryakumar, surprisingly, determined to carry himself on for the ultimate over. Bowling for the primary time in T20Is, he gave simply 5 runs to power a Tremendous Over, the place India simply defeated Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar’s captaincy nous was on show all through the collection, albeit in subtler methods. Within the first sport, India was in a spot of hassle as Pathum Nissanka led Sri Lanka in a record-breaking chase of 214. Nevertheless, the calm Indian captain used Axar’s left-arm spin to dismiss right-hander Nissanka for a 48-ball 79, triggering a collapse that noticed the host aspect lose 9 wickets for 30 runs.
Rewarding partnership: India’s T20 World Cup title defence at dwelling in 2026, beneath new head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, has began on a optimistic word.
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PTI
Rewarding partnership: India’s T20 World Cup title defence at dwelling in 2026, beneath new head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, has began on a optimistic word.
| Picture Credit score:
PTI
The 33-year-old Suryakumar was a composed determine on the sector by way of his debut collection as full-time captain, giving his bowlers the liberty to get the job completed, as vouched by Axar and Ravi Bishnoi in the course of the collection.
Excluding the ultimate T20I, the place the group experimented with its batting order and fielded a closely rotated aspect, India’s victory was based totally on an aggressive batting technique. This technique resembled the method of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from IPL 2024, the group that Gambhir was beforehand concerned with earlier than taking on because the Indian coach from Rahul Dravid.
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Like KKR earlier this 12 months, India attacked early with its openers and maintained an aggressive method with the center order, specializing in aggression somewhat than consolidation.
India’s eight-man batting order included 4 left-handed choices, permitting it a left-right batting pair within the center with out a lot issue. This tactic made it difficult for the Sri Lankan bowlers as they needed to consistently modify their strains, leading to erratic bowling and simpler run-scoring alternatives.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill supplied renewed vigour atop the batting order, whereas Suryakumar demonstrated his aggressive batting fashion, unaffected by the added duty of captaincy. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya additionally made vital contributions with the bat when required.
The Indian bowlers have been spectacular, taking 27 out of the 30 Sri Lankan wickets. Spinners Axar and Bishnoi continued to show their reliability, with Bishnoi’s three-wicket haul being essential in India’s win within the second sport.
Bishnoi’s sharp bowling has strengthened his place, and he could problem the rested Kuldeep Yadav for the first spinner position within the T20I setup.
Gambhir’s determination to bench all-rounder Washington Sundar for the primary two video games raised a number of eyebrows initially provided that many anticipated Sundar to switch the now-retired Ravindra Jadeja within the T20I unit. Nevertheless, India selected Riyan Parag, a extra dependable batting choice, because the sixth bowler.
To his credit score, 22-year-old Parag bowled with nice coronary heart, utilizing a mixture of off-breaks and leg spin to maintain the Lankan batters guessing.
Toss-up between two: The third all-rounder’s spot in India’s T20I group is probably going up for grabs, with Riyan Parag (in pic) and Washington because the contenders.
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PTI
Toss-up between two: The third all-rounder’s spot in India’s T20I group is probably going up for grabs, with Riyan Parag (in pic) and Washington because the contenders.
| Picture Credit score:
PTI
Washington, although, made the very best of the one alternative that got here his means. He put in a man-of-the-match profitable efficiency within the third T20I, taking two wickets after enjoying an innings-salvaging cameo of 25 (18).
A serious blot within the Indian efficiency was Sanju Samson’s failure to make his possibilities depend. The Kerala batter tallied consecutive geese and had a disappointing day behind the stumps within the third T20I.
Equally, pacers Khaleel Ahmed and middle-order batter Shivam Duve too had forgettable outings within the third sport.
For Sri Lanka, the collection defeat, coming after a shock group-stage exit within the T20 World Cup, means an additional drop into the abyss.
A weak middle-order, vulnerable to constant collapses, was the primary reason for Sri Lanka’s downfall. Within the three video games, the Sri Lankan center order (numbers 4, 5, six and 7) mixed to attain 61 runs for an abysmal common of 5.08.
It additionally didn’t assist that the house bowlers have been constantly taken aside by the Indian batters, besides within the third match, the place a crumbling Pallekele floor got here to their assist.
Nissanka’s excellence with the bat (137 runs in three matches) emerged because the lone vivid spot for Sri Lanka. He obtained appreciable assist from fellow openers Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera. The Lankan prime three aggregated 354 runs at a more-than-handy common of 39.33. However their efforts finally proved inadequate.
With a fast turnaround between the 2 white-ball legs, Sri Lanka will likely be hoping for a change in luck within the ODIs, particularly with the bat.
For India, the transition following the retirement of T20I stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jadeja couldn’t have been any smoother.
In Suryakumar, the aspect appears to have discovered the correct chief going into the subsequent T20 World Cup cycle. Many of the slots within the lineup are stuffed, with solely the third all-rounder spot probably up for grabs, with Parag and Washington because the contenders.