India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I, 2017- 5 Talking Points

The third and final T20 International was a low scoring affair but it was a much more exciting match than the first two. Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited the Sri Lankans to bat first. The Sri Lankans lost early wickets and failed to build any momentum in their innings. At one stage, Sri Lanka were 85/6 and looked in all sorts of troubles.

Asela Gunaratne built a good partnership with Shanaka and made sure that the visitors had something to bowl at. The hosts struggled with the timing on the pitch which was slow, as the ball was not coming on to the bat. A decent partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey put India in a good position.

They lost few quick wickets which brought the visitors back in the game. Luckily for India, they had MS Dhoni at the crease who never allows pressure to get to him. He along with Dinesh Karthik built a calm partnership as India reached their target with 4 balls to spare. They completed the clean sweep winning the 3-match series 3-0. Here are the five talking points from the match.

1. Jaydev Unadkat‘s spell

Unadkat has been doing well in IPL for some time now. He has earned his place in the Indian T20I set up by his solid performances in the domestic circuit. But to cement his place in the team he needed to perform at the International level. In this series, he has done well and showed that he belongs to this level. The left-arm pacer was adjudged as the man of the match today. He also won the man of the series award for his consistent performances.

He bowled brilliantly today conceding just 15 runs in his quota of 4 overs. The 26-year-old dismissed both the Sri Lankan openers in his opening spell. The visitors never recovered from this early setback and failed to get any momentum in their innings as they ended up with a score of just 135.

2. Gunaratne-Shanaka took Sri Lanka to respectable score

At one point, Sri Lanka were 85/6 and looked in all sorts of troubles. Even getting a score 110-120 looked difficult for them. Gunaratne held the innings together for the visitors and ensured that they crossed the 100-run mark. The right-handed batsman took his time on the crease and kept the scoreboard ticking while he kept losing partners on the other end.

Gunaratne scored 36 runs in 37 balls and ensured that Sri Lankans reached a respectable score. He finally found a partner in Dasun Shanaka. The right-handed batsman proved he is no muck with the bat as he built a decent partnership with Gunaratne.

3. Mohammed Siraj struggles again

The young right-arm fast bowler had a forgettable T20I debut against New Zealand where he conceded 53 runs in his quota of 4 overs. He got another chance but struggled again as he proved to be the most expensive bowler for India. Siraj conceded 45 runs in his quota of 4 overs though he got a wicket.

The 23-year-old fast bowler failed to keep the runs under check as he leaked them at an economy rate of more than 11. He did pick a wicket, that too of the dangerous looking Gunaratne, but the Hyderabad fast bowler looks under-cooked for the International cricket at the moment.

4. Manish Pandey with a solid knock

It was a difficult pitch to bat on, as it was slow and the batsmen struggled to time the ball. The hosts lost early wickets chasing a relatively small target of 136. When Manish Pandey came into bat India were 39/2 and could feel some pressure of the mounting asking rate.

Pandey showed his class and maturity as he built a good partnership with youngster Shreyas Iyer. He never looked in trouble on a pitch where every batsman struggled for find their timing. The right-handed batsman would be disappointed that he was not there at the end as he was clean bowled by Chameera on 32.

5. A close finish

Team India won the first two T20 Internationals by huge margins. The visitors only managed to score 135 in their innings and such a small target was never expected to trouble the Indian batting line-up. But the visitors bowled well on a pitch which was slow and the batsmen struggled to play their shots.

When Chameera cleaned up Pandey, India looked in a spot of bother as they needed 28 runs in 23 balls with 5 wickets in hand. But luckily for the hosts, they had MS Dhoni at the crease. Dhoni is hailed as one of the best finishers in the world as he never allows the pressure to get to him. He built a partnership with Dinesh Karthik who scored 18 runs from 12 balls. DK hit a six on the last ball of the 19th over to bring down the equation to 3 from 6. Eventually, India reached their target with 4 balls to spare.