IND vs SL 2021: India playing XI's report card for the 1st T20I
Cricket
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Prithvi Shaw bagged a first-ball duck on his T20I debut as a peach of an outswinger from Dushmantha Chameera found the edge of his bat. He took a catch, but it was a miserable outing overall for the youngster.
Prithvi Shaw (2/10)
1
Shikhar Dhawan scored 46 off 36 balls, anchoring the innings while Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav accelerated at the other end. He fell while trying to up the ante himself, but made up for his dismissal with a superb display of captaincy in the second innings. Almost every bowling change Dhawan made yielded a wicket.
Shikhar Dhawan (8/10)
2
Coming in at No. 5, Ishan Kishan scored a quickfire unbeaten 20 at the death to boost India's total. He was a touch lucky to pull off the stumping of Dasun Shanaka, but was solid behind the stumps.
Ishan Kishan (7.5/10)
3
In the absence of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane was handed the Indian white-ball captaincy as a young side toured Zimbabwe in 2015. Despite winning the first match, Rahane failed to win the series as India suffered a 10-run defeat in the second game.
Sanju Samson (6.5/10)
4
Suryakumar Yadav was assured and elegant as he notched up his second T20I fifty. His brilliant knock injected momentum into India's innings in the middle overs, and he took two catches as well.
Suryakumar Yadav (8.5/10)
5
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Krunal Pandya bowled two tight overs for 16 runs, conceding only one boundary. He picked up the wicket of Minod Bhanuka - some much-needed success against a left-hander.
Krunal Pandya (7/10)
6
Hardik Pandya's poor run with the bat continued as he labored to 10 off 12 balls at a time when his team desperately needed him to up the run rate. He castled the struggling Ashen Bandara, but his bowling, too, was nowhere near the level expected of him. The all-rounder even dropped a catch, capping off another tough outing in Colombo.
Hardik Pandya (3/10)
7
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Deepak Chahar was unlucky with the new ball once again, and he came back to take a couple of wickets later in the innings once again. He sent the dangerous Asalanka back to the hut and followed it up with the crucial wicket of Hasaranga.
Deepak Chahar (7/10)
8
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Despite a couple of poor deliveries that were taken for sixes, Varun Chakravarthy had a promising India debut. He scalped the wicket of Dasun Shanaka and kept the batsmen guessing with smart variations. Interestingly, India were confident enough to use him at the most difficult stages of the innings as a strike bowler.
Varun Chakravarthy (6.5/10)
9
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was superb in the 1st T20I as he ended up with a four-wicket haul. He put in a much-improved death-bowling performance and threatened to provide breakthroughs throughout his spell.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (9/10)
10
Arguably the pick of the Indian bowlers, Yuzvendra Chahal justified his selection ahead of Rahul Chahar with a masterful display of leg-spin bowling. He finished with figures of 1/19, sending down wonderfully disguised variations in pace, line, length and spin.
Yuzvendra Chahal (9/10)
11