IND vs SL 2021: Ranking India's debutants based on their performance in the 2nd T20I
Cricket
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Chetan Sakariya had a difficult outing in Colombo. Bowling two overs in the powerplay, the left-armer leaked a few boundaries as the Sri Lankan batsmen looked to capitalize with Bhuvneshwar Kumar operating at the other end.
Chetan Sakariya 3.4-0-34-1
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Sakariya was tasked with sending down two overs. While he picked up the wicket of Ramesh Mendis in a decent third over, he was given only eight runs to defend in the final six balls. The debutant ended up as India's most expensive bowler on the night, and although he showed promise with a deceptive slower ball and some swing early on, he would've wanted more from himself.
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Nitish Rana's ODI debut saw him bat at No. 7, where he couldn't make an impact before being dismissed by Akila Dananjaya. On his T20I debut, the southpaw moved up two places to No. 5, but his fortunes didn't rise with his batting position.
Nitish Rana 9 runs (12 balls)
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Rana scored only 9 runs after coming into bat in the 16th over, struggling to find the boundary and failing to counter Wanindu Hasaranga. He walked back in the final over after being completely deceived by Dushmantha Chameera. The conditions weren't in favour of Rana, who came to the crease late in the piece, but he too should've done better.
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Opening the batting alongside Shikhar Dhawan, presumably to preserve the right-left combination, Ruturaj Gaikwad started slowly in the powerplay. With India not having much batting security lower down the order, the openers weren't too keen on taking the attacking route in the opening six overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad 21 runs (18 balls)
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Gaikwad did his job to a decent extent as he ensured India came out of the powerplay unscathed, but he couldn't carry on. After a couple of slower balls softened up Gaikwad, a bouncer served as the killer blow. The right-hander walked back for 21, just when it seemed like he'd make a splash on debut.
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Coming in at No. 3, Devdutt Padikkal received an absolute jaffa as his first ball in international cricket. Putting the delivery in the back of his mind, the youngster rotated strike well at the start of his innings. Eventually, Padikkal decided to up the ante.
Devdutt Padikkal 29 runs (23 balls)
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He slog-swept a huge six off Dhananjaya de Silva and later essayed a beautiful switch-hit off Wanindu Hasaranga to move to 29. However, one ball after playing the switch-hit, the southpaw missed a regulation leg-break on the sweep to be cleaned up by Hasaranga. It was a promising India debut from Padikkal, who looked assured and confident at the crease.