Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer hit fifties before a combined bowling performance helped India thrash Sri Lanka in the first T20I here at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
With this 62-run win over Sri Lanka, India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Both teams will now lock horns in the second T20I on Saturday. Chasing 200, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start as the side two wickets inside three overs. Bhuvneshwar removed both openers Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara as Sri Lanka struggled in the chase.
Sri Lanka reach the 50-run mark in the tenth over but lost two more wickets. Charith Asalanka did hit a fifty for the visitors but the asking rate was too much to ask for as Sri Lanka lost momentum. Sri Lanka needed 102 runs in the last four overs and the visitors were completely outplayed in the first T20I as they lost the match by a considerable margin.
Earlier, put in to bat first, India got off to a firing start as Ishan’s flurry of boundaries helped the hosts reach 47 in the five overs. It was a solid start from India as Rohit Sharma and Ishan scored 58 in the powerplay. The duo continued firing before Lahiru Kumara removed Rohit in the 12th over as India reached 111/1. Meanwhile, Ishan continued slogging and took India’s score over the 150-run mark, however, Shanaka dismissed him in the 17th over. In the end, Shreyas and Ravindra Jadeja stitched an unbeaten 44-run stand to help India post a mammoth total of 199/2.
Brief Scores: India 199/2 (Ishan Kishan 89, Shreyas Iyer 57*; Dasun Shanaka 1-19); Sri Lanka 137/2 (Charith Asalanka 53; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-9, Venkatesh Iyer 2-36 )