Senior India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar shone with the ball to restrict visitors to 137/6 in the first of the three-match T20Is.
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India displayed an all-round performance with bat and ball to restrict Sri Lanka to 137/6 in the first of three match T20I at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday, to clinch victory by 62 runs and take a 1-0 lead. Chasing a daunting total of 200 runs, senior India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent opener Pathum Nissanka (0) packing in the first ball of the match. His fellow opener Kamil Mishara (13) and Janith Liyanage (11) followed suit as they failed to withstand the formidable India bowling attack.
Charith Asalanka (53 not out) showed some hope for the visitors but it was not enough to scale the 200 runs target. His cautious knock of 47 deliveries was laced with five hits to the fence.
But wickets — senior wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Chandimal (10) and Dasun Shanaka (3) — continued to fall on the other end with Asalanka finding no real support before Chamika Karunaratne (21) and Dushmantha Chameera (24) chipped in with important cameos.
However, their scoring rate was a major factor in their failed chase, after the early blows as the Indian bowlers managed to keep most of the visiting batters silent.
The senior India paceman bowled only two over to return staggering figures of 9/2. All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, showed some positive signs, as he scalped two wickets but leaked runs at an economy rate of 12 per over.
Wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja also picked up a wicket each.
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Asked to bat, Ishan Kishan (89) and Rohit Sharma (44) put the visitors to their sword by forging a 111-run stand for the opening wicket. Both the batters looked in control of their proceedings and complimented each other to add to the scoreboard for the top-ranked side.
The India captain missed out on a half-century nearly after playing 32 deliveries which included two boundaries and one hit over the fence.
However, the southpaw, who is featuring as the wicket-keeper batter in absence of Rishabh Pant, continued to play some excellent shots to make run scoring look easy.
Kishan smashed 10 boundaries and three sixes in his 56-ball cameo to make his spot further stronger for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia as an opener. He batted at the strike rate of an astonishing 159 and also justified his big price tag of the upcoming IPL.
Later, Shreyas Iyer, who stepped into bat in place of the rested Virat Kohli, continued to add on India’s dominance. His 28-ball unbeaten innings included five boundaries and two sixes. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka utilised six bowlers, and chipped in with two overs himself, but to no respite. Heavyweights India lived up to the billing of the best side in the shortest format currently and made light work of the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Medium-pacer Lahiru Kumara (1/43) and Shanaka (1/19) were among wickets for the visitors. However, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne and Kumara, leaked runs at an economy rate of over 10 in their stipulated four overs spell each.
The second T20I will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on Saturday.
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