Twitter Reactions: Kusal Perera blitz stuns India in Nidahas Trophy opener

The first match of the Nidahas Trophy 2018 proved to be a surprise of sorts for many. The pre-tournament favorites, team India, were humbled by the hosts Sri Lanka. It would not be wrong to state that the ‘Pereras’ sealed the game for the home side. Early in the game, it was Kusal Perera who blew away the Indian new ball bowlers. Later, in the death overs, Thisara Perera completed the formalities for the hosts as they won by 5 wickets.

Coming to the game, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first. The move seemed to have worked rightaway with the Sri Lankan new ball bowlers removing Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina on 0 and 1 respectively within the first two overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey then added a crucial 95-run stand for the third wicket to rebuild the innings.

While Manish struggled for his 35-ball 37, Shikhar’s form with the bat continued to be sublime. Even after the departure of Pandey in the 13th over, Dhawan continued to get goin. He was unfortunate to have missed out on his maiden T20I ton. Dhawan was sent packing on 90 that came off 49 deliveries with six fours and six sixes.

Rishabh Pant, who was promoted to number 5 position owing to his hard-hitting reputation, failed to impressed during his innings of run-a-ball 23. Towards the end, it was an unbeaten 13 off 6 deliveries that saw the Indian score propel to 174/5 in their stipulated 20 overs. In the run chase, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis for 11 in the second over itself. However, what followed was an absolute carnage.

Shardul Thakur’s first over yielded 27 runs kudos to some slaughtering hits by Kusal Perera. The wickets of the Sri Lankan innings continued to fall at regular intervals with most batsmen getting starts. But the real impetus was given by the thundering knock of Kusal Perera. Perera notched up his 8th T20I fifty and it came off just 22 deliveries – the second fastest fifty for Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game.

Perera was eventually dismissed in the 13th over by Washington Sundar on 66 that cameoff 37 deliveries with 6 fours and 4 sixes. After his dismissal the run flow saw a sudden drought. From the 11.2 overs to the 17.4 overs, Sri Lanka did not hit a single boundary. India felt they had clawed back in to the game. But a six and a four on the last two deliveries by Thisara Perera off the 18th over by Jaydev Unadkat almost sealed the game for Sri Lanka.

Thisara Perera ended with an unbeaten 22 off 10 deliveries to his name to see Sri Lanka home by 5 wickets. He finished things off in style with a pull shot for a boundary in the penultimate over.

Here is how the fans reacted to Sri Lanka’s win in the first T20I:

https://twitter.com/imJR_4/status/971067621595467776