India and Sri Lanka are set to face each other in the third and final T20I match on Saturday in Rajkot. After a narrow last-ball win in the opener, India fell short by 16 runs as Sri Lanka leveled the series 1-1.
The Indian bowling unit bled runs with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who returned to the playing XI after a spell of injuries, bowling as many as five no-balls in his two overs. He stepped over the line three times on the trot in his first over, making him the first India bowler to bowl a hat-trick of no-balls in the T20I.
Mavi, who made a sensational T20I debut in the opening game and Arshdeep Singh added to the no-ball count as they too missed the trick with skipper Hardik Pandya, who had to rely on his spinners, lamenting that the team needs to get its basics right.
On the batting front, the top order, once again, failed to provide a solid start. Shubman Gill succumbed to his second successive failure in the series and would be eager to capitalize on the opportunities in hand like Rahul Tripathi, who too perished cheaply in his debut game.
It was the second instance of the top-order collapse in the series.
But despite half the team returning to the dugout under 60 runs, it was heartening to see India still go for the chase as Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav almost pulled off the impossible. In Axar, India have found a reliable like-for-like replacement for Ravindra Jadeja.
The team is expected to give it's core more games to form lethal combinations as the team prepares for life beyond Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the shortest format of the game.
As expected, Sri Lanka have given a solid fight to the hosts. The reigning Asia Cup champions came back strongly to level the series. However, they would like their middle order to perform better. Rajkot is one of the flattest tracks in the country and is expected to be a batting belter.
Teams:
India: Hardik Pandya (C), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, and Mukesh Kumar.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (C), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Thushara
