Sri Lanka v India, One-off T20 - 5 talking points

India has annihilated Sri Lanka yet again and this meant that India registered one of its most emphatic triumphs in its history of away tours. The visitors completed a 9-0 thumping by winning three Tests, five ODIs and one T20 game in the whole tour. Quite certainly, it’s a very tough time to be a Sri Lankan fan.

Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli registered brilliant half-centuries and that made the game a walk in the park for the Indians. Sri Lankans were off to a great start defending a total of 171, but they soon lost track as Kohli and Pandey steered India towards the winning line and skipper Upul Tharanga was found dejected on the field.

Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a formidable 170 on the board, but there was a chance of getting a lot more than that. They lost momentum in the middle overs and that literally cost them the entire game. The series came to a close with yet another one sided game, but here are five talking points which caught a lot of attention.

1. The king of Chases does it again!

This happens to be Kohli’s fourth half-century against Sri Lanka in T20 games and those classical shots he played was an absolute delight to the eyes. He stroked a masterful 82 off 54 balls which included one six and seven boundaries. This happens to be his 11th fifty whilst chasing in a T20 game and he also completed 1,000 runs whilst chasing in the process. He also completed 15,000 runs in International cricket, the fastest ever to get to that landmark (in 336 innings).

2. Another opportunity grassed by Rahul

Not many understand the seriousness of this issue, but it’s high time for KL Rahul to step up and perform in colored jerseys. He proved his worth with in Tests, but he still has to answer a lot of questions in limited overs. The Karnataka batter raced off to a great start whilst chasing, but failed to capitalize on it. He eventually fell for 24 off 18 balls and it actually went unnoticed thanks to a brilliant performance from the Indian skipper.

3. The turning point in the game

Sri Lanka was scoring at 9 an over after the end of 11 overs and they had their eyes set on a total of 200 or more. Yet, runs completely dried up in the next few overs as the aggressor Dilshan Munaweera got dismissed in a very embarrassing manner. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the run rate dipped to just over 8. Yet, a good solid finish from Isuru Udana and Seekuge Prasanna helped them reach the 170 mark.

4. Excellent second fiddle knock from Pandey

Manish Pandey constructed a terrific partnership with Virat Kohli and though he is fighting hard for a place in the side, he kept rotating the strike and played the second fiddle. He didn’t try to be the hero and just let Kohli be the aggressor. This move from him paved off big time as he managed to get a much-needed fifty and it’ll be interesting to see what skipper Kohli will think about him.

5. A valiant effort that went in vain

Dilshan Munaweera made a cut into the playing XI after a long while during the ODIs and though he didn’t justify the selection in the two ODIs he played, he played a swashbuckling innings. Thw 28-year-old spanked 4 sixes and five fours in his 54-run knock but unfortunately, he got out at the wrong time in the worst possible way and that turned the game on its head. His management would be expecting something like this coming from his willow on a consistent basis.