IND v SL, 1st T20I Review: India steamroll the Lankans with an exuberant all-round display

The Cuttack T20I was more of an action replay of the 2nd and 3rd ODIs, where India was a little too strong for the struggling Lankans. It was a comprehensive all-round display from the hosts, which never gave the opponents an opportunity to counter-attack. Many felt Sri Lanka might have a priceless advantage bowling first with the dew coming in, but they failed to capitize.

On a track which was two-paced, batting was getting incredibly difficult, but India somehow crawled their way towards the 180 mark. KL Rahul, a batter under incredible pressure, played a brilliant knock under pressure. Adjusting to the conditions brilliantly, the lad fired his way to a half-century, which will do a world of good to his confidence.

Despite the good start they got and the little cameo played by Shreyas Iyer, the scoring rate dipped drastically between the 11th and 16th over. This had a significant impact on the game and anything above 150 would’ve been above par at that point. This was when MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey, two people who are still trying to prove their worth in the present set up, stitched an outstanding partnerhsip.

Dhoni was in an attacking mode right from the outset, but he was calculative with his approach. Pandey took his time to get going, but in the slog overs, he played some amazing big shots. Make no mistake, it was a very hard pitch to bat on, but to score 180 runs on this track proves this team’s worth. Dhoni finished with a 22-ball 39 and Pandey remained unbeaten on 32 off 18 balls.

Kuldeep and Chahal pay no respect to the dew

It’s hard to recollect the last instance when two wrist spinners made such a mockery of the batting lineup, especially with the dew troubling them. It gets incredibly difficult to grip the wet ball with the due loitering around, but Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal sent a strong statement to the selectors that they are versatile enough to bowl on any pitch.

Jaydev Unadkat marked his return to International cricket with a wicket in his very first over. The visitors failed to stem the momentum of the bowlers, which eventually led to their downfall. Kusal Perera, who was returning after a long injury layoff, failed miserably with a 28-ball 19.

Right from the moment when the spinners joined the party, India’s domination escalated. Firstly, Angelo Mathews chipped a simple catch straight towards the bowler Chahal. In Chahal’s next over, Gunaratne was stumped by MS Dhoni and the latter’s reflexes once again made the entire world go nuts. Kuldeep Yadav chipped with a brace as well, with which, the visitors successfully crashed.

Despite having a big target ahead, Sri Lanka still had an advantage in their hands, which only went immaterial with Kuldeep and Chahal running riot. Hardik Pandya was another exception performer on the day with the cherry as he too returned with a 3-fer. The all-rounder cleaned the tail with sheer brilliance and ensured the Lankans didn’t hit the three digits.

Kuldeep Yadav’s 2/18 in four overs and Chahal’s 4/23 in as many overs will be remembered for a long time, by just considering how adverse conditions these were for the spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal rightfully picked up the Player of the match award, which was a perfect icing on the cake for the Indian contingent.

Brief Scores

India: 180/3 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 60, MS Dhoni 39*, Manish Pandey 32*)

Sri Lanka: 87 all out in 16 overs (Kuldeep Yadav 2/18, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/23, Hardik Pandya 3/29)