IndvSL : India start T20I series on winning note as skipper shines with bat

 India's new coach-captain duo had a great start. Gautam Gambhir won his first match as coach, and Suryakumar Yadav secured his first win as captain. India defeated Sri Lanka by 43 runs in the first T20 match on Sri Lankan soil. Batting first, India scored 213 runs, thanks to Suryakumar's half-century. Sri Lanka couldn't chase the target and was all out for 170 in 19.2 overs. With this win, India took a 1-0 lead in the T20 series.

Sri Lanka's captain Charith Asalanka chose to bowl first after winning the toss. India's openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a good start. Their understanding has been improving with each game. They capitalized on the powerplay, using the pace of the Sri Lankan bowlers to hit big shots. Shubman was dismissed on the last ball of the powerplay, scoring 34 runs off 16 balls. The openers added 74 runs together. Yashasvi was out on the first ball of the next over after scoring a quickfire 40 runs off 21 balls.

After the openers were dismissed, the new T20 captain Suryakumar and Rishabh Pant carried the innings forward. They played aggressively, and the Sri Lankan spinners couldn't contain them. Suryakumar scored a half-century in his first match as captain, making a dazzling 58 runs off 26 balls before getting out.

Following Suryakumar's dismissal, India lost wickets quickly. Despite Pant's efforts, who remained unbeaten, he found no support from the other end. Hardik Pandya (9), Riyan Parag (7), and Rinku Singh (1) couldn't contribute much. Pant scored 49 runs off 33 balls. Due to the lower-order collapse, India couldn't score as many runs as they should have, ending at 213/7 in 20 overs. Matheesha Pathirana took 4 wickets for 40 runs for Sri Lanka.

Chasing 214, Sri Lanka started well too. Openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis played aggressively, benefiting from the dew which made it difficult for Indian bowlers to grip the ball. They scored at an average of 10 runs per over, with an 84-run partnership. Arshdeep Singh broke the partnership by dismissing Mendis for 45.

Despite this, Sri Lanka maintained their scoring rate, and at one point, it looked like they might win. However, no bowler could get wickets until Nissanka was dismissed by Axar Patel for a dazzling 79 off 48 balls that imcluded some glorious pull shots & drives through the off . After the openers were out, Sri Lanka came under pressure. The new batters couldn't settle in, and Suryakumar capitalized on this by continuously bowling Axar and Ravi Bishnoi. This strategy worked well.

Kusal Perera was out for 20 runs, and captain Asalanka was dismissed for a duck. In the 17th over, Suryakumar took a gamble by giving the ball to Parag, despite Arshdeep and Mohammad Siraj having overs left. Parag took two wickets in that over; first, Dasun Shanaka was run out, and then he dismissed Kamindu Mendis. Sri Lankan batters kept getting out while trying to hit big shots. In the next over, Arshdeep dismissed Wanindu Hasaranga. Sri Lanka lost seven wickets.

With 51 runs needed in the last three overs and seven wickets down, it was almost impossible for Sri Lanka to win. They were all out for 170 in 19.2 overs. India won by 43 runs. Parag took 3 wickets for 5 runs in 1.2 overs. Axar and Arshdeep took 2 wickets each, while Siraj and Bishnoi took 1 wicket each.