Sri Lanka vs India 2021, 3rd T20I – Who Said What

The 3^rd T20I between India and Sri Lanka again saw men in blue walking up with its depleted side as net bowler Sandeep Warrier also had to be called in the team. Sri Lanka won the match by seven wickets and bagged the T20I series 2-1 eventually. Winning the toss, India chose to add runs on the board first but the entire show turned out to be an utter failure as they could merely collect 81 runs in 20 overs.

The entire top order was blown away by Lankan bowlers and spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s 23* turned out to be the only decent spot in India’s batting lineup. Birthday man Wanindu Hasaranga was the best with the ball today as he picked a classy four-fer conceding only nine runs and was ultimately declared as the player of the match as well as the series. Skipper Dasun Shanaka also picked two wickets under his belt.

Rahul Chahar fights out for India

The Lankan batters walked down the field comfortably knowing the minuscule task they had in front of them. Minod Bhanuka added 18 runs and Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten 23 was enough to get the Lankans over the line. Rahul Chahar turned out the lone warrior from India’s bowling artillery as he picked all three wickets for the team.

Losing skipper, Shikhar Dhawan said:

 It was a difficult situation for us but as a team, we decided we will stay and play the series. Lots of learnings for me as captain. Last game was a close one, today it was an off day for the batting unit but the boys will learn from it. We lost too many wickets today and the Sri Lanka bowlers bowled well. When you lose early wickets and you don’t have a long batting, you are under pressure. Both teams played in great spirit and it’s a beautiful feeling. The Sri Lanka captain and players wanted to know about my process, so I told them and I hope they enjoyed listening to it”.

Winning Skipper, Dasun Shanaka said:

 I should thank the BCCI first of all to play under such circumstances. Also, thanks to Rahul And Shikhar. I have got the bowling option, so I can use them well in the middle. Not only my fielding, all the boys are working really hard on their fitness and they want to be world class. You can see all the players performed and handled different situations. I am lucky to lead this team. When a low score is set, it’s good if we can get a good start. Still, the players are young, they are learning and they will be really good in future.

The Player of the match and series, Wanindu Hasaranga said:

The wicket was slow, and our spinners bowled really well,” he says. “When I bowl, I always try to bowl dot balls. That helps in getting wickets. The fielding also helps. I am really happy because other boys played really well throughout the series, both in ODIs and T20Is.”