Cuttack: Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal claimed four wickets as India beat Sri Lanka by 93 runs in the opening Twenty20 international here on Wednesday. Chahal returned impressive figures of 4 for 23 to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 87, in 16 overs, while chasing 181 as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier, Lokesh Rahul (61), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (39) and Manish Pandey (32) powered India to 180-3 after being invited to bat first. Opener Rahul smashed 61 off 48 balls to lay a solid foundation for the challenging total after the hosts were invited to bat in the first of the three matches. But it was Dhoni (39) and Manish Pandey (32) who took the attack to the opposition bowlers during their unbeaten 68-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Dhoni hit 4 fours and a six during his 22-ball blitz while Pandey also hit the bowlers to all parts of the ground during his 18-ball stay. Earlier Rahul, who replaced Shikhar Dhawan in the XI, put on a crucial 63-run stand with Shreyas Iyer, who made 24, after India a lost an early wicket. Angelo Mathews got skipper Rohit Sharma caught at mid-on for 17 to check India’s surge after the openers gave the team a brisk start.
Rahul, who hit seven fours and a six, carried on with his attacking play as he reached his second T20 fifty in 34 balls, prompting skipper Thisara Perera to rotate his bowling options. The ploy worked as Sri Lanka took two quick wickets including that of Rahul and also managed to stem the flow of runs. Perera bowled Rahul on a well-disguised slower delivery.
But Dhoni and Pandey finished off the innings with a flurry of fours and sixes as India got 66 runs in the last five overs. The visitors, who lost the preceding one-day series 2-1 on Sunday, made four changes after their eight-wicket defeat in the Visakhapatnam ODI. They brought in paceman Dushmantha Chameera, debutant left-arm quick Vishwa Fernando, all-rounder Dasun Shanaka and batsman Kusal Perera.
“We didn’t bat well in the third match (and) in the second match we didn’t bowl well. Now we just have to move on and play our own game. We can beat anyone,” Perera said at the toss. India captain Rohit Sharma said he also would have bowled first had he won the toss but believed his team was capable of handling any situation. “Dew will be a factor, but we have played under those conditions many times,” said Sharma.
“The first games we played against these guys in Tests and ODIs, we didn’t have the start that we would have liked but we would like to change things around here.”The hosts made two changes, with Rahul coming in for fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat replacing Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The second T20 will be played in Indore on Friday followed by the third and final game on Sunday in Mumbai.
Scorecard
India: R. Sharma c Chameera b Mathews 17, KL Rahul b NLTC Perera 61, Shreyas Iyer c Dickwella b Pradeep 24, MS Dhoni (not out) 39, Manish Pandey (not out) 32. Extras (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 4) 7. Total (for three wickets in 20 overs) 180.
FoW: 1-38, 2-101, 3-112.
Bowling: V. Fernando 2-0-16-0, A. Dananjaya 4-0-30-0, Chameera 3-0-38-0, Mathews 3-0-19-1, Perera 4-0-37-1, Fernando 4-0-38-1.
Sri Lanka: N. Dickwella c Rahul b Unadkat 13, U. Tharanga c Dhoni b Chahal 23, MDKJ Perera c Dhoni b Kuldeep Yadav 19, A. Mathews c & b Chahal 1, Gunaratne st Dhoni b Chahal 4, D. Shanaka c Pandya b Kuldeep Yadav 1, T. Perera st Dhoni b Chahal 3, A. Dananjaya c & b Pandya 7, Chameera c Rahul b Pandya 12, MVT Fernando c Unadkat b Pandya 2, ANPR Fernando not out 0. Extras (w-2) 2. Total (all out in 16 overs) 87.
FoW: 1-15, 2-39, 3-46, 4-55, 5-58, 6-62, 7-70, 8-76, 9-85.
Bowling: H. Pandya 4-0-29-3, J. Unadkat 2-0-7-1, Y. Chahal 4-0-23-4, J. Bumrah 2-0-10-0, Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-18-2.
