Twitter Reactions: India inflict series whitewash over Sri Lanka by winning final T20I in Super Over thriller

India beat Sri Lanka in the Super Over in the 3rd T20I in Kandy to complete a whitewash over the hosts on Tuesday.

By Vibhanshu Kumar

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Team India
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Team India (Twitter)

The final T20I of the series was well underway as Sri Lanka (SL) squared off against Team India (IND) at Pallekele in Kandy, on Tuesday, July 30. After winning the toss, the hosts decided to take the field first amid rain-marred conditions.

The decision of the newly elected Lankan Captain Charith Asalanka was duly justified as the Lankan bowlers breathed fire in the powerplay stage of the first innings. Notably, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to get going and got dismissed for 10 runs. Moreover, other key top-order batters got out in quick succession. Sanju Samson continued his rough patch as he did not even open his run account in the whole T20I series and perished with another duck to his name.

Top order fails, Shubman Gill-Riyan Parag along with lower tail comes to rescue

As a result, half the Indian side went back to the hut with scores reading 48/5 in 8.4 overs. However, some sensible batting by the comeback man Shubman Gill (39 off 37 balls) and Riyan Parag (26 off 18 balls) piloted India to cross the 100-run mark. The duo stitched a crucial 54-run stand for the sixth wicket to revive Team India from a precarious situation. Thereafter, Washington Sundar (25 off 18 balls) and Ravi Bishnoi (8 off 8 balls) provided the final push as India managed to post 137/9 on the board on a pitch which was assisting the spinners quite significantly.

Sri Lanka slump after solid start, India bounce back in last over drama

Meanwhile, Maheesh Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers from the Lanka camp as he claimed a three-wicket haul (3/28) during his bowling spell. In reply, Sri Lanka started cautiously as after an early vigil, openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis started scoring briskly. They kept the scoreboard ticking as they crossed the 50-run mark in the 9th over. However, leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi struck in the 10th over to give India a much-needed breakthrough.

Not giving up on his hunt for a wicket, Bishnoi struck again at the fag end of the game to give a chance to the Men in Blue as the opener Mendis (43 off 21 balls) got dismissed. From the other end, Kusal Perera (46 off 34 balls) played a good partner. But just when things were looking easy for the hosts, Washington Sundar joined the party with twin strikes by dismissing Wanindu Hasaranga and skipper Charith Asalanka. Moreover, in a late twist, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav first handed the ball to Rinku Singh, who not only ended Perera's long stay at the crease but also dismissed Ramesh Mendis and then in a blind gamble, brought himself on in a surprise move in the last over who nearly missed a hattrick.

Super Over drama unfolded in Kandy

Consequently, despite getting a good start, Sri Lanka slumped in the penultimate moments of the match. But there was still more drama on the cards as the hosts somehow managed to score two runs off the last ball while needing three runs, to push the game into a Super Over.

During the Super Over, hosts Sri Lanka played first while for India, willy off-spinner Washington Sundar took the bowling onus. He started brilliantly and dismissed Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka on the fourth and fifth balls, respectively. This meant that the Men in Blue needed just three runs to seal the game. 

In the run chase, opener Shubman Gill walked out along with his Captain Suryakumar Yadav. However, the latter had other ideas and before the Lankan Lions could blink, Yadav smacked a four on the first ball itself as Team India inflicted a series whitewash by winning the final T20I in the Super Over to finish the series 3-0.

Meanwhile, here's how the fans reacted to Sri Lanka vs India nailbiter:

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