Another game. Another dominant performance by Rohit Sharma and his team and another series clean sweep. India once again came up trumps against an underwhelming Sri Lanka side, beating them by 6 wickets with 19 balls to spare and thus sweeping the Lankans 3-0. After winning the toss and batting first, Sri Lanka couldn’t have asked for a worse start as they lost 2 wickets in the first 2 overs itself.
After being reduced to 60-5, skipper Dasun Shanaka once again played a captain’s knock, leading from the front and scoring 74 of 38 balls to take the total to a somewhat respectable 146-5 in their 20 overs. In response, India was never really threatened from the offset, and once again Shreyas Iyer carried his bat throughout the innings, playing some lovely cricket and nothing his 3rd straight half-century and taking India home without any hiccups, ending an immensely satisfying series for them.
Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Let’s take a look at the talking points of the game
1. Spectacular Shanaka
Dasun Shanaka comes across as a very calm and level-headed cricketer. The soft-spoken captain of Sri Lanka normally doesn’t show a lot of emotion on the field, but make no mistake: behind that calm exterior, there is one hell of a hard-hitting batsman who can strike the ball a very long way. While we all saw a glimpse of his prowess in the 2nd t20i, he took his power-hitting to the next level yesterday.
With his side reeling at 64-5 after 13 overs, Shanaka took matters into his own hands. After judging the ball around initially, he switched into top gear at the death, smashing each bowler who came in his way and taking his team to a defendable total. He was a very calm presence with the bat, unfazed about the mess around him and playing as the situation demanded. His performances will surely be a plus for a Lanka side that is still searching for the right balance in their squad.
2. Avesh Khan comes of age
When Avesh Khan was given his maiden cap against the West Indies, everyone looked on with bated breath as to how the pacer will fare after a splendid IPL campaign with the Capitals. While his debit did not go as expected, with him being taken to the cleaners, last night was an opportunity to make things right and boy did he make things right.
Along with Siraj in the powerplay, Avesh made full use of the conditions on offer, bowling the right lengths, stifling the Lanka batsman for room. He too did not give them a chance to free their arms. These lengths and variations made the batsmen desperate, who attempted to take him on, and he was rewarded with 2 wickets for his persistent bowling. With the World Cup on the horizon, and chances at a premium, it’s safe to say that Avesh has just ensured that he put his name in the hat for the ticket to Melbourne.
Image Credits: SportsLumo
3. India’s scary squad depth
Whisper it slowly, but India is well and truly all in for their preparations for the T20 World Cup. While all the frontline members of the team are getting tuned and in shape for the extravaganza in Australia, it is the performances of the squad members in the last 2 series that have caught the eye of many. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Siraj, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel have all chipped in with valuable contributions with the ball at varying stages of each game, while the likes of Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda have all turned up with the bat.
The performances of Shreyas will definitely pose a happy problem for the selectors, with his splendid batting earning him the player of the series award. All in all, this Indian team is once again turning out to be a very scary proposition for the rest of the world with the sole intention of roaring back from the ignominy of an early exit last time out. We are all braced for an exciting next few months for Indian cricket.
Joy Barma
8 Aug 2022Thank you for this blog. this is a very informative and useful blog about cricket.