IND vs SL 2021: India playing XI's report card for the 2nd T20I

The Indian cricket team, who were severely affected by COVID-related issues ahead of the second T20I, fell to a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, July 28.

Without as many as eight players who came into close contact with the COVID-positive Krunal Pandya, India fielded a team consisting of only five specialist batsmen. They managed only 132/5 in their 20 overs - a total Sri Lanka chased down with two balls to spare.

Here is the Indian playing XI's report card for the second T20I against Sri Lanka.

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IND vs SL 2021, 2nd T20I: India Player Ratings

M. O. O. D! 🤜🤛#TeamIndia scalp the 4th Sri Lankan wicket! 👏 👏 #SLvIND Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/Hsbf9yWCCh pic.twitter.com/QDVqKvjPXk

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2021

Ruturaj Gaikwad: 6/10

Opening the batting ahead of Devdutt Padikkal, Gaikwad got off to a modest start and found the boundary only once in his 18-ball stay at the crease. India needed him to make the most of the first phase of the innings on the slow deck, but he holed out to Dasun Shanaka playing a careless pull.

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Shikhar Dhawan: 7.5/10

Dhawan struggled to find his timing for most of his innings and managed to make 40 off 42 balls. The Indian skipper may not have been at his fluent best, but his knock was crucial in his team getting to a fighting total. He could've been a touch smarter with his bowling changes.

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Devdutt Padikkal: 6.5/10

Padikkal's maiden T20I outing came in a difficult situation - batting out of position on a tough wicket with very few batsmen to follow. He did his best given the circumstances, scoring 29, but could've been more cautious one ball after he hit a boundary.

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Sanju Samson: 3/10

Samson struggled in the middle against the Sri Lankan spinners, scoring 7 off 13 balls as his natural attacking game was impeded by the pitch and the strength of his own team. He missed out on a DRS chance and shelled a tough catch, but stumped Shanaka well.

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Nitish Rana: 3/10

Rana's second outing for India in international cricket didn't go much better than his first. He walked back in the final over for a 12-ball 9.

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Kuldeep Yadav: 8/10

Kuldeep was extremely unlucky as his fielders let him down on numerous occasions, but he bowled superbly to claim two wickets. An expensive final over ruined his figures slightly, but he was one of the best bowlers on display.

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Navdeep Saini: 5/10

Saini had one ball to face and wasn't asked to bowl on a deck that wasn't tailored to his strengths. Unfortunately for the pacer, he appeared to injure his shoulder while diving for a catch in the penultimate over and is unlikely to play in the third T20I.

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Chetan Sakariya: 5.5/10

Sakariya conceded a few boundaries in the two overs he bowled in the powerplay before coming back to send down two more at the death. While he picked up one wicket, he was by far the most expensive Indian bowler in the second T20I.

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Varun Chakravarthy: 7.5/10

Chakravarthy didn't threaten as much as he'd have liked on a pitch that seemed tailormade to his skills, but the Sri Lankan batsmen couldn't take him for runs. He finished with figures of 1/18 in his four overs.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 7/10

Bhuvneshwar bowled well, using his cutters and slower balls to stifle run-scoring in his first three overs. But the final over of his spell, the penultimate over of the Sri Lankan innings, was taken for runs as India conceded the advantage.

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Rahul Chahar: 8/10

Chahar took an exceptional catch to dismiss the in-form Avishka Fernando before bowling a tight four-over spell for 27 runs. He dismissed the dangerous Wanindu Hasaranga off the final ball of his quota in what was a promising performance from the leg-spinner.