STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsFair to say, it was a complete one-sided affair in the first T20I as India crushed Sri Lanka to take the lead in the series.
Sending India to bat first, Sri Lankan bowlers erred their line and were carted all over the place by the Indian openers. Rohit Sharma was back at the top with Ishan Kishan who had struggled in the series against West Indies. India scored 58 runs in the first six overs without the openers being separated. They extended their good start and went to register a century partnership before Rohit was dismissed at the score of 111. Kishan continued from there and kept on piling runs until he was dismissed for 89 off 56 balls. Shreyas Iyer batting at number three, provided the late flourish as he scored a 28-ball 57 that helped India post 199/2.
In reply, Sri Lanka were on the back-foot in the first ball. Pathum Nissanka, their star batter in the series against Australia, suffered a first ball duck. Apart, from Charith Asalanka (53*), none of their top six scored over 15 runs. Hence, Sri Lanka could post only 137 runs for the loss of six wickets.
Openers having a ball
India’s opening partnership in recent times has been excellent. In today’s T20I, they registered ninth 50+ partnership since 2021, which is the joint most for a team alongside Ireland in this period. A more special milestone was achieved when Rohit and Ishan converted it to a century partnership.
In T20Is, this was the 11th century partnership for India in total. Alongside Australia, this is the most number of century partnerships for the opening wicket In T20Is for a team.
Ishan Kishan finds his grove
After a torrid series against West Indies, Kishan bounced back in the first T20I against Sri Lanka to lift the faith of his captain and coach. Similar to his reputation, Kishan started off his innings with a bang. In the first 20 balls, Kishan was striking at 185. Apart from the 41-50 ball range, Kishan’s strike rate never dropped to less than 30.
He scored a valiant 89 of 56 balls and registered his highest T20I score. This was not only his personal best score. His score of 89 also became the best for an Indian wicket-keeper in the format. He went past the record set by Rishabh Pant (65*) in 2019 against the West Indies.
Shreyas sets the stage on fire
The blows were relentless by Indian batters in the first T20I. After Kishan and Rohit’s marathon partnership, it was time for Shreyas to unleash.
He came in at number three with a platform to launch from the word go. However, in the first 12 balls, he had zero boundaries. In his next 16 balls, he struck five fours and two sixes. He reached his half-century in just 25 balls, his personal fastest in all T20s.
Bhuvneshwar with a head start once again
One of the biggest highlights of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling is his ability to strike early. His death bowling skills came in as an addition as he grew to stature.
In the first T20I, Bhuvneshwar once again started off the innings with a wicket in the first over, the 10th in his T20I career. Only Bilal Khan (16), David Willey (13) & Angelo Mathews (11) have more than him. To emboss more, Bhuvneshwar became the first Indian bowler to pick up a wicket in the first ball of the innings in T20Is. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up a wicket in the first legal delivery (started off with a wide) against the same team in 2016.
India make it 10 out of 10
Post the two defeats in the T20 World Cup 2021 against Pakistan and New Zealand, India have played 10 T20Is and have won each of those. Three in the remaining matches of the T20 WC, six in the home series against New Zealand (3) and West Indies (3) and one against Sri Lanka in the first T20I.
With a win in the third T20I against West Indies, they achieved their longest streak of win (9). With a win in the first T20I, they extended it to 10 and became the second Test playing nation to have 10 consecutive wins in T20Is. Afghanistan have two streaks of 10+ consecutive wins.
India, Sri Lanka’s kryptonite country
Sri Lanka have found it difficult to win in India, which is similar to their home conditions. In the 16 matches they have played, Sri Lanka have won only three at a win/loss ratio of 0.250, their joint worst in a host country.
With a loss in the first T20I, Sri Lanka have gone winless for 10 consecutive T20Is in India, nine losses and one no-result. Their last win in India dates back to 2016 against Afghanistan in Kolkata. The 10 T20Is without a win is their longest winless streak in a country.
