Nidahas Trophy 2018, Sri Lanka vs India: Hits and Misses

After suffering a defeat against Sri Lanka in the opening game of the Nidahas Trophy, the Indian team pulled one over the hosts with a 6-wicket victory at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday (March 12).

The match was curtailed to 19 overs per side. After winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, Rohit Sharma and Co. got off to a disastrous start as the Sri Lankan openers went berserk in the first three overs of the game.

However, the visitors made a commendable comeback to restrict Thisara Perera's men to 152-9 at the end of the first innings. Sri Lanka put India under pressure after dismissing the Indian openers at the start of the chase. However, the middle order stepped up to complete the job for the Men in Blue.

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#5 Hit: Kusal Mendis

The Sri Lankan opener now has two consecutive half-centuries in the series.

He looked in exceptional touch against India and showed mastery with the bat to put India on the backfoot. The right-handed batsman hit a six off the first delivery he faced in the innings.

Mendis was the anchor as well as the hammer for the Sri Lankan batting order on the day, and it was his thumping innings that gave the hosts a fighting edge in the game. He scored 55 off just 38 deliveries in a knock that consisted of 3 fours and 3 massive sixes.

He was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the 15th over of the game.

Good to see Kusal Mendis back and playing as he can. Far too good a player to have been languishing.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 12, 2018

#4 Miss: Jaydev Unadkat

Rohit Sharma expects a lot more from his marquee bowler in the series

The heavy price-tag that the bowler fetched in the IPL 2018 auction earlier this year is turning heavier with every game that he plays for the country. He hasn't impressed in the series so far and his economy rate has been a serious concern for the Men in Blue.

Against Sri Lanka, he gave away 15 runs in his very first over. Five of them came off an unfortunate piece of fielding on the first delivery of the over and the right-arm bowler just seemed to capitulate consistently thereafter.

Finally, at the end of his 3-over spell, he had leaked 33 runs to the opposition. As a compensation, though, he took a terrific catch in the last over of the game. It was of a ball that was swirling from a reasonable height behind the keeper and made for a very tough grab.

However, it is his bowling effort that is under the microscope in this series. He must make considerable strides in the remainder of the tri-series to live up to the expectations from him.

#3 Hit: Shardul Thakur

The 26-year-old was the pick of the Indian bowlers

In a game where the Sri Lankan batsmen were smothering the Indian pace attack and smashing these seamers all over the park, Shardul Thakur stepped up to affect four dismissals for his team.

Sri Lankan opener Danushka Gunathilaka was his first scalp, and the left-hander looked dangerous at 17 off 8 deliveries, before he was sent back to the pavilion in the third over of the innings.

After that, Thakur made a dent in the Sri Lankan middle order by dismissing the hard-hitting duo of Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka.

The seam-bowler's contribution for the day wasn't over yet. In his fourth over of the day, he dismissed Dushmantha Chameera for a golden duck off the second-last delivery of the Indian innings.

#2 Miss: Indian opening pair

The Indian skipper hasn't been able to perform with the bat in this series

While Sharma has struggled to get going at the top of the order in this series, Dhawan has been in excellent form over the last couple of months.

However, both the Indian openers failed to fire on the day and their immediate dismissals put the visitors under serious pressure within the first four overs of the game. While Sharma was dismissed after scoring 11 runs off 7 deliveries, Dhawan returned to the pavilion with just 8 runs to his name.

Akila Dananjaya was the bowler to scalp the wickets of the Indian openers, and their departure put India in a spot of bother at 22 for 2 after 3.1 overs.

#1 Hit: The Manish Pandey-Dinesh Karthik partnership

Manish Pandey displayed terrific temperament to see India through in the chase

These two extremely-talented batsmen are amongst the front-runners for the No. 4 spot in ODI cricket for India. Today, they collaborated beautifully under pressure to take India home in the game.

After India lost their first four wickets at crucial junctures in the game, Pandey and Karthik steadied the ship and ensured that there were no more hiccups in India's chase of the total.

Manish Pandey made 42* runs off 31 deliveries, while Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten at 39 off 25. Both the right-handed batsmen played some beautiful shots in their respective innings and retained their composure throughout the same.