TOP 3 T20I BATTING DISPLAYS BY TEAM INDIA IN SRI LANKA
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Virat Kohli (68 off 48) August 2012 in Pallekele
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Virat Kohli scored a fine 68 off 48 deliveries as Team India defeated Sri Lanka in the one-off T20I in Pallekele in August 2012. The visitors were sent into bat after losing the toss. Kohli top-scored for Team India, taking them to a competitive 155 for 3.
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Kohli hit 11 fours and a six during his stay at the crease. Team India ended their powerplay on a high as Kohli took Thisara Perera for a hat-trick of boundaries, finding the gaps in the field with precision. Kohli’s fifty came in 32 balls as he lofted left-arm spinner Rangana Herath over mid-off.
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Virat Kohli was eventually dismissed for 68, hitting Sri Lankan bowler Shaminda Eranga to deep midwicket. An unbeaten 34 from Suresh Raina took Team India past 150. India’s Irfan Pathan (3/27) and Ashok Dinda (4/19) then restricted Sri Lanka to 116.
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Virat Kohli (82 off 54) September 2017 in Colombo
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Virat Kohli loves chasing down targets, except when it comes to crunch ICC matches. In a one-off T20I against the Lankans at the Premadasa in September 2017, Virat Kohli smashed 82 in only 54 balls as Team India chased down 171 with ease.
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Kohli came in early after India lost Rohit Sharma for nine. He needed just 30 balls to bring up his fifty. Kohli looked set to take Team India past the victory line when he perished for 82, flicking a slower ball from Isuru Udana to deep midwicket.
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Manish Pandey scored an unbeaten 51 as Team India got home in the last over with seven wickets in hand. Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal (3/43) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/20) combined to keep Sri Lanka to 170 for 7 despite Dilshan Munaweera’s 29-ball 53.
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Shikhar Dhawan (90 off 49) March 2018 in Colombo
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Shikhar Dhawan hit a brutal 90 off 49 balls in the first match of the Nidahas Trophy tri-series in Colombo in March 2018. The sizzling knock was in vain though as Sri Lanka romped home to victory by 5 wickets and with 9 balls to spare. Team India got off to a disastrous start batting first.
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India lost Rohit Sharma without scoring and Suresh Raina for 1. Dhawan got some momentum and brought up his fifty off 30 balls. However, after his fifty it started raining sixes from the Indian opener’s bat as Dhawan looked set for the three figure mark.
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However, Dhawan fell for 90, missing a hundred. Dhawan hit six fours and as many sixes in his innings as India recovered from 9 for 2 to post a credible 174 for 5. It wasn’t enough though as Kusal Perera’s 37-ball 66 guided the Lankans to a comprehensive win, with nine balls to spare.
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