India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 1st T20I: 5 things we learnt from the match

Aided by superb spells from spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav India thrashed Sri Lanka by a monstrous 93 runs in the first match of the T20I series at Cuttack. Opting to bowl first, Sri Lanka found the going tough, with Lokesh Rahul smashing a half-century. Although they pulled things back, they were met by a rampant MS Dhoni and a flamboyant Manish Pandey at the death.

The two took India to 180, a challenging total, but the dew meant that the visitors were still in with a chance. All of those thoughts were wiped out the moment Kuldeep and Chahal started bowling in tandem. They conceded few runs, flummoxed the batsmen with guile and ended with combined figures of 8-0-41-6. The Lankans, who offered no resistance whatsoever, were bowled out for a paltry 87.

#5 KL Rahul and his T20 exploits

Rahul smashed yet another T20 half-century

KL Rahul has a special liking for the shortest format of the game. If anything, it was his exploits for Royal Challengers Bangalore that won him a spot in the Indian side in the first place. He is among the select few players in the format to average over 50 and once again showcased his consistency at Cuttack.

Opening the batting on a sticky, two-paced wicket, Rahul played out his nemesis, Akila Dananjaya, early on and then got into his groove with some eye-catching shots off the seamers. Even though he lost Rohit Sharma early, the opener looked fairly comfortable and notched a fine half-century before a Thisara Perera slower ball did him in.

#4 MS Dhoni provides the finishing touches

Dhoni blitzed away at the end for India

Although Rahul provided the early impetus, India lost their way in the middle with the run-rate dropping rapidly. Manish Pandey then joined MS Dhoni, who had walked out at no.4, in the middle. Dhoni, unlike his usual self, started off with a bang, playing some outrageous power shots and ending his innings with a fabulous maximum over deep square-leg.

Dhoni took on the right bowlers, played the power shots, brought out the deft dabs and ran like a hare between the wickets. At the end, his 22 ball 39 proved to be good enough to take India to a fine total.

#3 Jaydev Unadkat and promising signs for the future

Unadkat sent down two very good overs upfront

Jaydev Unadkat bowled just two overs in the game, picked up a single wicket and did little to make headlines. But his promising opening spell was a positive for India in the shortest format of the game. On his debut, Unadkat showed few nerves and mixed his bag of slower deliveries and cutters early on a sluggish wicket.

Upul Tharanga, who had blasted anything and everything in that ODI series decider a few days ago, had trouble timing the young bowler. Unadkat had just one wicket to show for his efforts - that of Niroshan Dickwella - but the signs are pretty clear. With him opening the bowling, Bumrah is freed up for the death and the spinners can bowl in tandem in the middle-overs. This guy is here to stay.

#2 Yuzvendra Chahal to the fore again

Chahal picked up 4/22 to destroy the Lankans

Yuzvendra Chahal has made it a habit of destroying opponents with his planning combined with a vast skill-set and shrewd execution. The wily leg-spinner is already the highest wicket-taker in 2017 in the format with 19 in 10 matches at 14.36.

Chahal started off by getting rid of Upul Tharanga and added a clueless Angelo Mathews to his list of victims soon enough. Asela Gunaratne and Thisara Perera were befuddled by his widish deliveries and got stumped by a nonchalant MS Dhoni. His 4/22 isn't even his best performance of the year, with his 6/25 against England being the pick of the lot.

#1 Sri Lanka fold like a pack of cards

Mathews had a horror outing with the bat

Sri Lanka, after showing glimpses of fight in the ODIs, were back to being...well Sri Lanka. With 181 to chase down, none of their batsmen appeared good enough to take the fight to the Indians and unsurprisingly folded yet again to the wrist spinners - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Angelo Mathews took five balls to get off the mark and was dismissed for one off his seventh ball. His colleagues did not fare any better as all of them found the going tough. Although Kusal Perera hung around for a while, even he couldn't make much of an impact. They eventually folded for a measly 87.