Sri Lanka thrashed India by five wickets in the first T20I on a green pitch in Pune and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. After winning the toss, they asked India to bat and bowled them out for their third-lowest total in T20I history.
Chasing 102, despite a few hiccups they got there with five wickets and two overs to spare. While the result might be a shock, thanks to their performance on the day, Sri Lanka were worth their victory.
For picking up three wickets on his debut, Kasun Rajitha was awarded the Man of the Match.
Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal was pleased with the performance of his seamers.
“I'm over the moon. I thought toss was important,” he said. “I saw some fresh grass on the pitch. Credit goes to bowlers, they did a really good job. It's a young team. Every time we tell them to back themselves and do what they are capable of.
“We miss a lot of senior players, the youngsters have put their hands up and grabbed the opportunity.”
Pitch was more English than Indian: Dhoni
Indian captain MS Dhoni said: “The wicket was completely different to what we have been playing in the last one month. It was more like an English wicket. There was spongy bounce, and variable pace. We played quite a few big shots. Maybe not the kind of shots we should be playing on a spongy wicket.
“This was a 135-140 kind of wicket because there was some help for the fast bowlers. It was more English conditions than Indian conditions. Our shot selection should have been better. Looking at the positives, everybody got a chance today, and we kept pressing hard."
This is what the cricketing fraternity had to say on the matter.
Jonty Rhodes found a silver lining on what was otherwise dark day for India:
The pitch was also a major talking point. While some wondering what was wrong with the pitch, some thought otherwise:
Injured Sri Lankan Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews:
Sri Lanka's leading ODI run-getter Kumar Sangakkara:
Former Indian women's' captain Anjum Chopra:
Former Sri Lankan captain, Sanath Jayasuriya was understandably elated:
Aakash Chopra had his say on the Indian batting:
Russel Arnold had this to say:
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