Sri Lanka vs India: Suryakumar Yadav loses his wicket immediately after completing half-century, leaves Rahul Dravid disappointed

India clinched the opening T20I against Sri Lanka by 38 runs to make a winning start in the three-match series. Having been put in by Sri Lanka, India posted 164/5 on the back of a 34-ball 50 from Suryakumar Yadav and a 36-ball 46 from skipper Shikhar Dhawan.

India made the worst possible start with the bat as Dushmantha Chameera sent back Prithvi Shaw for a golden duck on debut before the Yadav-Dhawan duo strung a crucial second-wicket 62-run partnership to infuse some momentum in the Indian innings. 

Notably, Yadav bagged the Player of the Series award in his debut ODI series and managed to translate that form into the shorter format as well. He looked set for a big score, having notched up his half-century in 33 balls with a six off Wanindu Hasaranga, although rather anticlimactically, he holed out to long-off the immediately next ball to leave head coach Rahul Dravid slightly disappointed. 

Yadav paused for a while, perhaps realizing that he played a shot one too many, while in the dug-out, Dravid stood still for a while and later nodded his head in disappointment. Meanwhile, quick contributions from Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson took India to a moderate total. During the chase, Sri Lanka, despite being well-placed at 90/3 at one stage, underwent a collapse as they were tumbled out for 126, falling considerably short of the target in the end. 

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— Maqbool (@im_maqbool) July 25, 2021

Suryakumar Yadav took the pressure from me: Shikhar Dhawan 

Speaking about half-centurion Yadav, the the skipper credited him for taking the pressure off him. “He(SKY) is a great player and we enjoy watching him bat. He took the pressure from me and the way he plays calculated shots was amazing to watch.”

Meanwhile, India skipper Dhawan backed his opening partner Shaw to bounce back after a forgettable start to his T20I career. “Prithvi is playing well and he is going to bounce back stronger,” Dhawan said post-match.

He further admitted that India could not reach a target they had in the sights after being inserted to bat. “I thought we were 10-15 runs short. I feel we played quite well after losing early wickets. It was about one or two boundaries, we knew we could get going,” he said.