India Revels In Emphatic Win over Sri Lanka in Second T20I in Indore

India Revels In Emphatic Win over Sri Lanka in Second T20I in Indore

For India, 2019 was a great opportunity to win the Cricket World Cup but everything came tumbling down in the semi-finals against New Zealand. There was a sigh of disappointment in the cricket-mad nation with over 90% of global cricket fans.

With cricket being a way of life in the country, the Men in Blue had to seek redemption fast to avoid losing the trust of their adoring fans. It was against this backdrop that the team embarked on the three-match T20I Series in Indore.

Trust in Young Players

The Men in Blue, like the Sri Lankans, brought on the same players from the first match at Guwahati. The first test match was washed out and abandoned without a ball bowled. The Indian team had a young team under the experienced Virat Kohli’s leadership.

This trust in young players in all departments paid off with India defeating Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to win the 2nd T20I at the Holkar Stadium. Could this be a sign of revival that the Men in blue desperately needs?

India’s Prematch Preview

There was an element of confidence in the Indian team as they had never lost a single match at the Holkar stadium across all cricket formats (two Tests, a T20 international and 5 ODIs since 2006).

Among the players in focus were Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah coming back to the team after a 4-month long injury layoff. There was also opener Shikhar Dhawan whose position will be under threat once Rohit Sharma returns after rest. Dhawan’s performance would also affect his partner KL Rahul on the other end.

India wins the Toss and fields First

India won the toss and elected to field first. It was always going to be a fast match but India restricted Sri Lanka to 142/9. The standout performances came from KL Rahul (45) and ShreyasIyer (34). The top scorer was KusalPerera, the Sri Lankan permanent middle-order batsman, with 34.

It was an important match performance for K L Rahul who sought to continue his upper hand in the opener’s slot over the returning Shikhar Dhawan. With the struggling Sri Lankan side down to 142 for nine, after a disciplined Indian bowling attack, Rahul provided the perfect start for India pushing his team to 54 for no loss in six overs. Kohli and Iyer were favourites during the match as they enthralled the Indore crowd with clean hitting.

This was the foundation that the hardworking skipper Virat Kohli (30 not out of 17) and ShreyasIyer (34 off 26) needed to take India home to 17.3 overs.

While Iyer fell before India was home and dry, Kohli tied up things perfectly with a spectacular six over deep fine leg. This put India in a driver’s position in the three-match test series. Sporting fans across the country and in the diaspora were able to catch live updates at sportsadda.com.

Some of the other highlights of the match included Dhawan’s performance, as he could not keep up with Rahul on the other hand whose offside play was thrilling to watch. Lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah also struggled to end with 32 for one in four overs.

From his six boundaries, six came between backward point and mid-off region. His play was exciting to see and this was something the Sri Lankan coach Mickey Arthur also noted after the match when congratulating his opponents. To the experienced coach, India and Australia were the flag bearers of world cricket.

Sign of Good Things to Come?

India’s emphatic win over Sri Lanka might look like another routine victory for the Men in Blue but a lot was going on at that pitch. The young team that earned Mickey Arthur’s praise showed a lot of promise and with Virat Kohli’s leadership, this could just be the turnaround India’s cricket so desperately needs.