Kusal Perera produced a blustery innings of 66 off 37 balls to overshadow Shikhar Dhawan’s career best knock of 90 off 49 balls to steer Sri Lanka to a convincing five-wicket win over India in the lung-opener of the Nidahas trophy T20 tri-series played at R Premadasa Stadium yesterday.
Perera named Man of the Match was at his brutal best belting a hapless Shardul Thakur (playing only his third T20I) for 27 runs (five fours and a six including a no-ball) in his first over that set the tempo for the rest of the Lankan innings.
Sri Lanka successfully chased down India’s total of 174-5 scoring 175-5 to win with nine balls to spare to secure only their third win (12 losses) in 15 T20I outings at this venue.
There was never a doubt of a Sri Lankan victory as long as Perera was at the crease. He kept the momentum in the batting going to the extent that by the time he was dismissed he had brought down the required run rate to a run a ball. But his dismissal in the 13th over and that of Upul Tharanga for 17 two overs later put the pressure back on Sri Lanka as the asking rate rose to above eight.
However two of the big hitters in the short game Dasun Shanaka (15 n.o.) and Thisara Perera (22 n.o.) ensured that all the good work done by Perera was not lost by carrying the team to victory with an unbroken partnership of 37 off 23 balls.
Thanks to the carnage caused by Perera, Sri Lanka raced to their best ever power play T20I score of 75/2 in the first six overs.
Perera compensated for the early loss of Kusal Mendis for 11, by putting together a stand of 58 off 21 balls for the second wicket with Danushka Gunathilaka where he was the dominating partner.
The way Perera went about bashing the bowling clearly showed the lack of experience in the Indian line up that was sans key bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya.
Even after Perera’s dismissal India didn’t have the necessary battery of bowlers to contain the rest of the batting and inexperience in their bowling was clearly evident.
India rode on Dhawan’s career best knock of 90 off 49 balls inclusive of six sixes and six fours to run up a total of 174-5 after being invited to bat first by Sri Lanka.
Jeevan Mendis belied his 35 years to provide Sri Lanka with an early breakthrough when he pulled off a stunning catch running backwards from mid off to dismiss the Indian captain Rohit Sharma who has been a thorn in the Lankan bowling during the recent series in India.
But yesterday Sharma lasted just four balls from Dushmantha Chameera in the opening over before he was dismissed without scoring.
Suresh Raina promoted to number three didn’t last long either exposing all three stumps to Nuwan Pradeep and getting bowled middle stump off a full toss which he failed to put away.
Dhawan surviving a lbw review off Jeevan Mendis at 29 followed that lucky break with two top edged back to back sixes off Nuwan Pradeep twice to race to a half century off 30 balls.
He reached his highest T20 score with a pulled six off Chameera moving from 75 to 81 in the 17th over and looked good enough to complete a maiden T20I century. But it was not to be when he holed out to long-off ten shy of the target despite being given a reprieve at 82 when Dinesh Chandimal failed to snare onto an outside edge.
Dhawan figured in two useful partnerships of 95 off 64 balls with Manesh Pandey (37) and 49 off 32 balls with Rishabh Pant (23).
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