Ishan Kishan slams 56-ball 89 as Team India clinch 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka by 62 runs

Ishan Kishan slammed a 56-ball 89 and Shreyas Iyer scored an unbeaten 57 from 28 as Team India defeated Sri Lanka by 62 runs in the first T20I in Lucknow on Thursday.

Thanks to Kishan and Shreyas’ exploits, Team India posted 199 for 2 after being sent into bat. In response, Sri Lanka crawled to 137 for 6 and went down without a fight.

Defending a massive total, India reduced Sri Lanka to 29 for 2 in the powerplay. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the hosts off to a perfect start as Pathum Nissanka (0) bottom-edged the first ball back onto the stumps. Bhuvneshwar also sent back Kamil Mishara (13), who dragged a good-length delivery from the pacer to midwicket.

Sri Lanka could have lost their third in the sixth over but Charith Asalanka (53*) survived two close shaves off Yuzvendra Chahal. He was first dropped by Shreyas at deep midwicket. The leggie then won an lbw appeal against the left-hander. However, Asalanka went for the DRS and got the decision overturned as Ultra Edge showed a spike when he attempted to sweep the ball.

India did not have to wait long for the third wicket, though, as Venkatesh Iyer struck in his first over. He dismissed Janith Liyanage (11) with a short off-cutter that the batter could only hit to cover.

Ravindra Jadeja then announced his return to international cricket by having Dinesh Chandimal stumped for 10. The experienced batter came down the track, but was beaten by the turn and bounce and was out of his crease when Kishan took off the bails. Sri Lanka struggled to 57 for 4 at the halfway stage.

The visitors lost half their side for 60 when skipper Dasun Shanaka (3) top-edged a reverse sweep off Chahal to backward point. With that scalp, Chahal (67) also went past Jasprit Bumrah (66) to become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is.

Venkatesh Iyer picked up his second wicket when he ended the sixth-wicket stand of 37 between Chamika Karunaratne (21) and Asalanka. The pacer had Karunaratne caught behind with a full delivery outside off.

Asalanka batted well for his half-century but India were never under pressure as the chasing side lost too many wickets too soon.

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Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer go berserk

Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma (44 off 32) added 111 for the opening wicket in under 12 overs to get Team India off to a brilliant start. The left-hander then continued the good work in the company of Shreyas as Sri Lanka could only watch the carnage helplessly.

Kishan looked in great touch from the start, smacking Chamika Karunaratne for three consecutive boundaries in the third over. In the next over, he slapped Lahiru Kumara for a six and a four. Thanks to the left-hander’s exploits, the hosts ended the powerplay at 58 for no loss.

Rohit, who was content playing second fiddle for most of the opening stand, got into the six-hitting act by slog-sweeping Jeffrey Vandersay over midwicket. At the other end, Ishan reached a 30-ball fifty by punching Shanaka for a couple.

The impressive stand ended when Rohit was beaten by one from Lahiru Kumara that kept low and was bowled. Before being dismissed, though, Rohit (3,307) became the leading run-getter in T20Is, overtaking Martin Guptill (3,299) and Virat Kohli (3,296).

Kishan continued to take on the Sri Lankan bowlers, clobbering Kumara for a six and two fours off consecutive deliveries in the 16th over. He looked set for a century but fell 11 short, miscuing a pull from Shanaka.

Following the left-hander’s exit, Shreyas provided Team India with the final flourish. He clubbed Karunaratne for a six over long-on in the penultimate over and followed it up with two more fours in the over.

The last over began with Shreyas launching Chameera for a six over long-on. He brought up a 25-ball fifty off the next delivery as India ended their innings one short of 200. Sri Lankan bowlers had a rough day, with three of them - Chameera, Kumara and Karunaratne - conceding over 40 in their four overs.

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India vs Sri Lanka 2022: Who was the Player of the Match in the 1st T20I?

Kishan was brilliant with his strokeplay, smacking 10 fours and three sixes in his 89. Shreyas provided the impetus at the end with five fours and two sixes in a blazing half-century.

Bhuvneshwar struck early for India with the ball, sending back the Lankan openers cheaply. For the visitors, Asalanka rode his luck and scored an impressive fifty.

Kishan was the easy choice for Player of the Match, as he set up the game for India.