India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Shreyas Iyer steers hosts to six-wicket victory to complete clean sweep 

Iyer notched up his third consecutive half-century in the series to guide India to a 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka.

Shreyas Iyer - in file image (Courtesy: ICC/Twitter)
By Samrat Chakraborty | Feb 27, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Shreyas Iyer (73 not out) played the role of a sheet anchor to steer India to 148/4 in 16.5 overs and clinch victory by six wickets in the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on Sunday. The top-ranked side in the shortest format of the game, thus, completed a 3-0 clean sweep over the visitors and extended their winning streak to 12 matches on the trot. Chasing a decent target of 147 runs, India lost their openers Rohit Sharma (5) and Sanju Samson (18) early. Incoming batters Iyer and former Baroda captain Deepak Hooda (21) later balanced the innings for the hosts to put them into a commanding position. 

Shreyas Iyer maintains purple patch 

Hooda’s 16-ball knock was laced with one boundary and as many hits over the fence. However, following his dismissal, Iyer continued to steer the ship for the hosts and notched up nine boundaries and one sixes in his 45-ball unbeaten knock. 

The latest KKR recruit who will be leading the side in IPL 2022 has notched up the unbeaten scores of 74 and 57 in his previous matches. 

His partnership with all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (5), however, did not last long as he was sent packing in the fourth delivery that he faced. Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, continued his fine run as he remained unbeaten on 22 runs from 15 deliveries. His innings was laced with three boundaries. 

For Sri Lanka, it was medium pacer Lahiru Kumara who picked up the best figures of 2/39 to add to his fine run. 

READ MORE: IND vs SL: India win second T20I comfortably to build unassailable 2-0 series lead

Captain’s knock from Dasun Shanaka

Earlier, opting to bat, Sri Lanka lost their openers Pathum Nissanka (1) and Danushka Gunathilaka (0) in the first-two consecutive overs to Avesh Khan and Mohammed Siraj respectively. Incoming batters Charith Asalanka (4) was given no time to settle in as he became the second victim for Khan while Janith Liyanage (9) also followed suit without adding much to the visitors’ score tally. 

However, senior wicket keeper-batter Dinesh Chandimal (25) and Dasun Shanaka (74 not out), restored the sinking ship for Sri Lanka as they rescued them from 29/4 to 60/5 before the former fell prey to Harshal Patel. 

Unperturbed by the dismissal, Shanaka continued his onslaught, to help the visitors reach a decent total. His prolific knock off 38 deliveries consisted of nine boundaries and two hits over the top. 
Chamika Karunaratne, meanwhile, remained unbeaten on 12 runs off 19 deliveries. 

Avesh Khan stands out; Kuldeep Yadav disappoints 

Khan returned the best bowling figures for an Indian bowler — 2/23 — but the penultimate over of the match cost 19 runs. It destroyed his tight economy rate from the first three overs. 

Fast bowler Siraj, Harshal Patel and young spinner Ravi Bishnoi scalped a wicket each but wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav found himself in a spot of bother as he gave away 25 runs in his stipulated four overs without getting a sight of the wicket. 

India’s next assignment will be the first of two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali which gets underway from Friday. 





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