Sri Lanka comfortably beat India in the third T20I by seven wickets and took the series 2-1. The depleted Indian side didn’t post a total that was enough for the bowlers to defend and a Sri Lankan win was inevitable.
India had only five proper batters to play with, as eight members of the Indian team had to be isolated apart from Krunal Pandya, who tested positive for COVID-19. A flurry of wickets didn’t help the visitors’ cause as they could only post 81-8 in their 20 overs.
Despite winning the first T20I comfortably and giving a tough fight in the second one, India were beaten comprehensively in the series decider. One can’t blame the team much as they just didn’t have enough batting options.
India opting to bat first were restricted to a total of 81-8 with skipper Dasun Shanaka joining Hasaranga in the destruction of the opponents’ batting by capturing two wickets and pulling off two stunning one-handed catches.
Sri Lanka in their reply lost three wickets all to leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, but Dhananjaya de Silva once again steadied the innings to see the team home with 33 balls to spare scoring an undefeated 23.
The last occasion Sri Lanka won a T20I series was also under the captaincy of Dasun Shanaka when they beat Pakistan 3-0 in 2019. The defeat was India’s first after going through eight consecutive T20I series unbeaten.
Scores: India 81-8 (20) (Kuldeep Yadav 23*, Wanindu Hasaranga 4/9, Dasun Shanaka 2/20) lost to Sri Lanka 82-3 (14.3) (Dhananjaya de Silva 23*, Rahul Chahar 3/15)
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