Post-match: This is where the match turned completely and India sealed the series win.
13.2: Chahahl gets Tharanga
14.1: Kuldeep gets Thisara
14.2: Kuldeep gets Kusal
14.5: Kuldeep gets Gunarante
15.1: Chahal gets de Silva
15.3: Chahal gets Sadeera
15.5: Chahal gets Akila
It was breathless action throughout the night. Be it the boundaries, be it the sixes, be it the wickets. There was just hardly any time to breathe.
India win by 88 runs. Hardik Pandya gets PVD Chameera with a brilliant delivery. Angelo Mathews will not come out to bat due to injury so that is a wrap. India take unassailable 2-0 lead in three-match series.
WICKETS, Chahal gets a triple breakthrough as well: In 18 balls, Sri Lanka have lost 7 wickets! Another four-for for Chahal. Phew, the action has been breathless in this match, whether the boundaries or wickets. De Silva, the first. Bowled by a googly. Sadeera off the third ball, stumped by Dhoni. And off the fifth last ball, Akila skies a googly to Manish at long on.
DRAMATIC COLLAPSE THIS!
One over turns it around for India. SL 162/5 after 15 overs: What a spell from Kuldeep Yadav! First 3 overs, 45 runs. Last over, 7 runs and 3 wickets. Final figures of 4-0-52-3
WICKET! Gunaratne departs. Sri Lanka lose their third wicket in over. Kuldeep has changed the complexion of the game. Sri Lanka’s chase left threadbare.
WICKET! Kuldeep gets a scalp. Tharanga falls. India back into the game after the Sri Lanka onslaught. Pandya takes a fine catch.
Perera c&b Chahal 47 (B: 29, 4s: 3, 6s: 2).
Sri Lanka 149/2 after 14 overs (Kusal 71*).
WICKET! Tharanga falls for 47. India finally get some respite. The Sri Lankan aggression had raised some cause for worry, but the wicket has negated some of the damage. Chahal hands India the breakthrough.
Tharanga c&b Chahal 47 (b: 29, 4s: 3, 6s; 2).
Sri Lanka 126/1 after 12 overs (Kusal 52*, Tharanga 44*).
Kusal and Tharanga 90 for the second wicket. After the early wicket, Sri Lanka have kept themselves in the hunt despite the daunting target. Kusal has now scored a fifty.
Sri Lanka 86/1 after 9 overs (Perera 30*, Tharanga 28*).
Despite Dickwella’s early exit, Sri Lanka have soldiered on well. Perera and Tharanga are piecing together a valuable stand here. It’s nowhere close to Rohit-Rahul’s fireworks, but is enough to keep Sri Lanka’s chase alive.
Sri Lanka 36/1 after 4.3 overs (Tharanga 9*).
WICKET! Sri Lanka lose their first wicket. Dickwella holes out in the deep. Unadkat gets a scalp. Will the floodgates open or will the visitors continue to stage a fightback.
Dickwella c Pandya b Unadkat 25 (b: 19, 4s: 2, 6s: 1).
After 2 overs, Sri Lanka 16/0 (Dickwella 13*, Tharanga 3*).
Dropped! KL Rahul spills a running catch off Bumrah. Dickwella gets a reprieve while batting on 3. He celebrates the chance with a six off the very next delivery.
260/5 by India is the joint-second highest team total in T20Is.
Rohit showed the way and Rahul followed up well. Rohit’s century in 35 balls was the joint-fastest T20I ton. Rahul too contributed well with a fine 89. India’s lower-order could not close in the vein, but the damage had been done by the openers. Sri Lanka will have to bat out of their skins if they are to keep the series alive.
India 260/5 after 20 overs (Karthik 5*, Pandey 1*).
India don’t finish as they had begun, but have put on 260 on the board. It’s a daunting total for any opposition. Sri Lanka will have their task cut out.
WICKET! Dhoni is bowled! Sri Lanka get a flurry of wickets, but they have come too little too late. Dhoni looks to heave one but misses it completely.
Dhoni b Perera 28 (b: 21, 4s: 2, 6s: 2).
WICKET! Shreyas falls on zero. He’s trapped in front from Perera off the first delivery he faced. Looked for a slog but missed it completely.
Shreyas lbw b Perera 0 (b: 1).
India 253/3 after 19 overs (Dhoni 27*).
WICKET! Pandya goes soon after he walks in. He departs on 10, but India are well placed here. Shreyas walks in to join Dhoni.
Pandya c Samarawickrama b Pradeep 10 (b: 3, 4s: 1, 6s: 1).
WICKET! Rahul falls on 89. Dickwella takes a diving catch off Pradeep’s bowling. India well on their way to 250. Sri Lanka are staring at a big total to chase here. With 21 sixes, India have now equalled most sixes in an innings in T20Is.
Rahul c Dickwella b Pradeep 89 (b: 49, 4s: 5, 6s: 8)
India 236/1 after 18 overs (Rahul 83*, Dhoni 26*).
Rahul has gone along well. Stroking sixes at will. The small boundaries in Indore have been utilised well by India to day. Rohit and Rahul have cashed in to the fullest.
Update: Rohit Sharma’s innings: 0 0 4 0 4 0 1 1 6 0 1 4 0 4 6 1 1 4 1 4 4 1 6 6 4 4 1 1 4 0 6 6 6 6 4 0 0 0 1 6 4 6 OUT 118 off 43 balls!
India 200/1 after 16 overs (Rahul 63*, Dhoni 12*).
200-up for India! hosts’ run-rate has fallen after Rohit’s fireworks early on. Rahul has soldiered on well. Dhoni has settled down well and will be expected to get going soon.
India 196/1 after 15 overs (Rahul 62*, Dhoni 12*).
Fifty for Rahul! He brings it up in 34 balls. Gets to the mark with a boundary. Played a fine supporting role to Rohit, but India will want him to take the lead from here on. Dhoni, since coming on, has dealt in singles. But, India will want to keep up their galloping run-rate. last 41 balls 171 runs.
India 165/1 after 13 overs (Rahul 46*, Dhoni 0*).
WICKET! Rohit falls against the run of play. He departs after scoring 118 off 43 balls. Looks to place the ball towards third man, but can’t get it past the short third-man fielder. Rohit along with Rahul formed a 165-run stand for the opening wicket. This is the fourth fastest T20I partnership ever.
Rohit c Dananjaya b Chameera 118 (b: 43, 4s: 12, 6s: 10).
India 148/0 after 11.2 overs (Rohit 101*, Rahul 46*).
100-up for Rohit! Equals the record for the fastest century by a batsman. He now holds the record for the fastest ton by an Indian by a margin of 11 balls. 0-6-1 wd-6-6-6-4 - the last seven balls Rohit has faced.
India 108/0 after 9 overs (Rohit 67*, Rahul 41*).
Fifty up for Rohit! He brings it up with a six. Its taken him just 23 deliveries to get there. And he celebrates reaching the landmark with another six off the very next delivery. Then follows it off with two consecutive boundaries. Ominous signs for Sri Lanka.
India 87/0 after 8 overs (Rohit 47*, Rahul 40*).
India continue their onslaught. Both batsmen are now in the 40s. 61 runs in the last four overs! They are going at the rate of close to 11 an over. Sri Lanka would be ruing their decision to bowl first. India primed for a big total. A breakthrough in the need of the hour for the visitors.
India 59/0 after 6 overs (Rohit 32*, Rahul 27*).
Rohit and Rahul going after the Sri Lanka bowling. They are targeting the short boundaries in Indore. Both getting at least two boundaries an over. 41 runs in the last 18 balls now.
India 43/0 after five overs (Rohit 17*, Rahul 26*).
Rahul smashes the first six of the game. Its a powerful hit off Chameera. It’s pitched short outside off, but Rahul rolls his arms and smacks it over the long off fence. Rohit, not to be left behind, gets another six in the very next over. India off to a flier.
India 18/0 after 3 overs (Rohit 10*, Rahul 8*).
Dropped! KL Rahul gets a reprieve. Rahul slashes at a ball pitch short and wide by Mathews. Sadeera though makes a mess of a straight-forward catch at backward point.
India 15/0 after two overs (Rohit 9*, Rahul 6*).
Rahul smacks a delightful boundary with an off drive off the bowling of Chameera. Both openers looking dangerous here.
India 8/0 after 1 over (Rohit 8*, Rahul 0*).
Rohit Sharma begins well. Smashes Mathews for two boundaries in the opening over. There’s no Vishwa Fernando in the Sri Lanka playing XI, so Mathews took up the new ball. Rohit, though, had little trouble swatting him away.
Sri Lanka win the toss and choose to bowl first.
India field an unchanged side from the one that won the first T20I in Cuttuck. Sri Lanka have made two changes to their XI. Sadeera and De Silva come in place of Vishwa Fernando and Dasun Shanaka.
IND XI: RG Sharma, L Rahul, S Iyer, M Pandey, D Karthik, MS Dhoni, H Pandya, K Yadav, J Bumrah, J Unadkat, Y Chahal.
SL XI: N Dickwella (W), U Tharanga, S Samarawickrama, A Mathews, K Perera, A Gunaratne, C de Silva, T Perera (C), A Dananjaya, D Chameera, N Pradeep.
6.30pm: A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on lowly Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match Twenty20 International series when the two teams face off in the second at Indore on Friday. There seems no end in sight for the visitors’ woes, who slumped to a heavy 93-run defeat in the series-opener in Cuttack.
While the Indian youngsters have delivered, the Lankans are going through a terrible phase of transition, and are badly in need of reliable performers.
The Indian batsmen have made merry against a toothless attack. Runs and wickets always give confidence to the players. Absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan has not given any respite to the Sri Lankans, who rely heavily on seniors such as Angelo Mathews to come good.
Under-fire MS Dhoni came good with the bat after being promoted to No 4 in the first T20I. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets the same position again or will there be another experiment.
India will once again bank on their spin-twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to lead the bowling effort. The duo’s performance in Cuttuck had proved vital and skipper Rohit will want them to replicate it on Friday.