"Srilanka beat the India C team with a little help from umpires"- Fans react after India's close loss in the second T20I

Sri Lanka managed to level the three-match T20I series against India by winning their second match on Wednesday night. Dhananjaya de Silva(40*) played a sensible match-winning knock to see his side home in a tight chase of 133.

Chamika Karunaratne's(12* in 6 balls) little cameo was also very vital, as his big hits against Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 19th over sealed the deal for Sri Lanka in the chase. The Indian team put on an admirable fight even though they played with a highly inexperienced batting line-up, in which Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to bat at number six position.

The two sides will now collide in the series decider on Thursday at the same venue. Navdeep Saini injured himself while fielding during the penultimate over of the match. Due to injury issues, it looks unlikely that Saini will be unavailable for the next contest. Team India might hand a debut to either Sai Kishore or Arshdeep Singh tomorrow to replace Saini in the playing XI.

Indian cricket fans applauded India's efforts in the match and took to Twitter to voice their opinions. Most of them slammed the Sri Lankan team and their fans for extravagant celebrations after winning against an "India C" side. They also pointed out that bad umpiring decisions assisted them during the chase.

Fans react on Twitter after India's close loss in the second T20I

We knew we had to construct the innings smartly: Shikhar Dhawan

During the post-match presentation, Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan expressed his delight over the fight put on by his inexperienced side to take the game to the last over with a small total.

He added that the batting unit had to revise their plans considering they were a batsmen short in the contest. Dhawan said:

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Balakrishna has been a cricket writer at Sportskeeda for almost seven years. A sport that he has been following and playing since he was eight, Balakrishna enjoys the intensity of the sport, skills and strategies applied to get a result out of nowhere, and the thrill that it gives. He also played as a medium pace bowling all-rounder in four inter-college tournaments, winning twice.

Balakrishna’s all-time favorite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He admires Sachin’s stellar performances against legendary bowlers, along with his discipline and humility. Meanwhile, he is a big fan of how Rohit turned around his initial struggles to build a successful career.

He avidly supports Team India and 2016 IPL winners SunRisers Hyderabad. The first World Cup that Balakrishna ever saw was the 2003 World Cup, when Australia comprehensively triumphed over India in the final.

While working, he ensures he only uses reliable sources and provides relevant, ethical, and accurate information. When not working, Balakrishna enjoys playing table tennis and reading non-fiction books.

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