IND vs SL, 1st T20: India bowl out Lanka for 87, register biggest T20I win

Cuttack: India registered their biggest win in T20 internationals after winning the first T20 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday by 93 runs. After posting a satisfactory 180 on board, the hosts tumbled Thisara Perera’s men for 87 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Being put to bat first, KL Rahul fired upfront for India despite the early loss of KL Rahul. Shreyas Iyer played a decent cameo before Lanka bounced back by dismissing both the batsmen. The visitors looked like they could keep India quiet, but MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey had other plans. The two fired around the park to steer India to a big first innings total.

In reply, the Lankans also started on a good note but a few couple of wickets were enough to take the game away from them. The batting attack looked toothless and did not pose any sort of threat to the Indian bowlers.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 23-4, while Hardik Pandya also scalped 3 wickets for 29 runs.

Perera’s men will aim to level the series when they take on the Men in Blue in the 2nd T20I at Indore on Friday.

Sri Lanka 87-10 after 16 overs:

WICKET! It's all over. Pandya bowls a short off-cutter and Fernando slaps it straight to point. India script their biggest T20I win today.

WICKET! Chameera gifts an easy catch to KL Rahul at deep square leg.

Sri Lanka 85-8 after 15 overs:

WICKET! Caught and bowled by Pandya. Dananjaya steps on the back foot and smacks it straight to the bowler, who calmly collects the ball on the followthrough. Soft dismissal.

Sri Lanka 71-7 after 13 overs:

WICKET! Kuldeep Yadav strikes again. Kusal dances down the track and goes for the slog, but fails to judge the turn. Gets a top edge that lands straight to Dhoni.

STUMPED! Sri Lanka skipper Thisara Perera doesn't aid the cause much. Dances down the track, aiming to smack one out of the park but misses. Dhoni, as usual, clips the bails in a flash.

Sri Lanka 54-3 after 9 overs:

WICKET! Gunaratne gets stumped after missing a sweep shot off a delivery by Chahal. MS Dhoni fumbles with the ball, but somehow directs it onto the stumps. The batsman fails to make ground and has to make way.

Sri Lanka 49-3 after 8 overs:

Lanka's chase in Cuttack has grown cold. Despite a steady start to the chase, a couple of top order wickets piled the pressure on the visitors. With the required run-rate slowly creeping up, can Lanka produce any moment of magic?

WICKET! Chahal on a roll. Mathews goes early into his punch shot and gifts it back to the bowler, who rushes forward to complete the catch. The leggie got him out in ODIs and now here.

India 39-2 after 5 overs:

WICKET! Tharanga falls cheaply. Chahal bowls a poor one down leg, giving Tharanga the license to hit. Instead, the ball makes contact with the glove and goes towards Dhoni.

WICKET! India strike and it's the end of the dangerman Dickwella. The southpaw charges down the track, aiming to execute the shot over cover but is tricked by a slower ball of Unadkat. Just the start India needed.

1st innings:

India set up a score of 181 for Sri Lanka to chase in the 1st T20I at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday. KL Rahul provided a solid start to India despite the early loss of skipper Rohit Sharma. His absence was never felt as Shreyas Iyer came in and struck a solitary half-century partnership before falling victim to Pradeep. The visitors struck again by getting rid of Rahul to put the hosts in a spot of bother.

MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey then switched gears as they eked out fours and sixes. Perera’s men couldn’t do much about the fireworks as they conceded a total of 61 runs in the last 4 overs, that saw the Men in Blue post 180 on board at the cost of 3 wickets.

India 180-3 after 20 overs:

150 for India! MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey have chipped in with some crucial boundaries to take India to a satisfactory total. 7 wickets are still in the bag and they will aim to go big.

India 114-3 after 15 overs:

WICKET! Lanka captain Thisara Perera has got rid of the dangerman. KL Rahul goes down on one knee in an attempt to slog an off cuter from Perera over mid-wicket. Gets too early in his shot and the stumps are rattled. End of a fine knock.

India 102-2 after 13 overs:

WICKET! India lose their 2nd wicket. Iyer tries to make room round the off side and slash over the midfielder at point. The ball takes the outer edge and heads safely to the keeper.

India 84-1 after 10 overs:

FIFTY! Big innings this from KL Rahul. The opener has changed gears since he started, playing his strokes confidently throughout the park. Hasn't been afraid of playing them in the air, either.

India 50-1 after 6 overs:

WICKET! Rohit Sharma is the first to depart after he gets caught at mid-on. He tries to clear the fielder over the bat, but fails to connect. Chameera comes charging in and dives forward to hold on to the catch. Dejection clear on the face of Rohit.

India 31/0 after 3 overs:

Akila Dananjaya is creamed for two boundaries in his second over. The dew has already come into the act and it's becoming difficult for the Lanka bowlers due to the dampness of the ball.

Toss:

Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bowl.

Here's how both the teams look like -

Thisara Perera has made four changes from the squad in the last ODI. Dushmantha Chameera, Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Perera are in along with left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando who will make his T20I debut.

India captain Rohit Sharma says he would've also chose to bowl first. States dew will be a key factor in the 2nd innings.

Preview:

Having comprehensively won the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka, Team India will be keen on proving their mettle in the shortest format of the game as well when they face Lanka in the first T20 at the Barabati Stadium here on Wednesday.

With skipper Virat Kohli being rested for the shorter formats, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma will be hungry for another bilateral series win, having guided the Men in Blue to an eighth consecutive series win after their ODI triumph. It will also present the team an opportunity to test their bench strength given the addition of youngsters who has been roped in.

Saurashtra left-arm speedster Jaydev Unadkat, who last played in a T20I against Zimbabwe in June 2016 has been recalled for national duty, along with the likes of Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda. Hooda, who made the headlines in February having smashed the fourth fastest Twenty20 century (108) by an Indian during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will be expecting his first call-up.

The batting order will be dependant on Rohit Sharma along with the likes of KL Rahul, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya who will also shoulder the responsibility. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the bowling attack while spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will be backed again to deliver.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are heading to the contest having walked away winless in 5 T20Is on the trot. Lanka will look to Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella to fire them against a confident Indian bowling line-up.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat.

Sri Lanka: Thisara Perera (Captain), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando and Dusmantha Chameera.

Match-timing:

The match is scheduled to start at 1900 IST.

Where to watch the match live?

The match can be seen live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1HD. The match can also be streamed online on Hotstar.