Agencies
Indian spinners dominated Sri Lanka in the second men’s T20I in Pallakele on Sunday .
Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Riyan Parag returned combined figures of 12-0-86-5 to trigger another Sri Lanka collapse and help India sew up the three-T20I series, with one game to go.
Sri Lanka’s best bet to defend that sub-par total would have been to unleash their three spinners on India - they had shored up their spin attack by bringing in Ramesh Mendis for fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka - but rain disrupted them. Though Maheesh Theekshana knocked Sanju Samson over for a duck in India’s DLS-adjusted chase of 78 in eight overs, Wanindu Hasaranga conceded 16 in his first over. Suryakumar Yadav then lined up Theekshana for three successive fours to rush India towards victory.
Matheesha Pathirana dismissed Suryakumar for 26 off 12 balls, and Yashasvi Jaiswal holed out for 30 off 15 balls in the next over, but Hardik Pandya produced a cameo of his own, ensuring that India’s new era kicked off with a series win.
ScorescColor:> India 81 for 3 (Jaiswal 30, Suryakumar 26, Theekshana 1-16) beat Sri Lanka 161 for 9 (Kusal Perera 53, Nissanka 32, Bishnoi 3-26) by seven wickets via DLS method
