India 137 for 9 (Gill 39, Parag 26, Theekshana 3-28, Hasaranga 2-29) tied with Sri Lanka 137 for 8 (Perera 46, Kusal Mendis 43, Rinku 2-3, Suryakumar 2-5)
India won the Super Over
In one of the strangest finishes to a T20I, India beat Sri Lanka in the Super Over to complete a 3-0 whitewash in Pallekele.
Earlier, the race started one hour late due to rain. Sri Lanka dispatched India after winning the toss and restricting them to 137 for 9 on a new pitch that helped both bowlers and spinners. Making their effort even more impressive was the fact that Matheesha Pathirana did not bowl a single ball in the innings. The fast bowler injured his right shoulder while stopping a ball in the seventh over and left the field. He returned towards the end of the innings but did not bowl.
Theekshana, the sailors are derailing India
India made four changes to their playing XI, ensuring that everyone in the squad gets at least one match. Shubman Gill, who missed the previous game with neck spasms, started cautiously against debutant Chamindu Wickramasinghe. At the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to tackle Theekshana and hit the spinners for two fours in three balls. But Theekshana trapped him lbw on the very next ball as the batsman missed a sweep.
In the next over, Sanju Samson bowled Wickramasinghe to cover his second duck in as many games. Rinku, promoted to No. 4, lasted just two balls to become Theekshana’s second victim. Tried to go in and out over covers but the turn and slowness of the wicket did him in. Patherana took a good catch running to his right through the middle. Asitha Fernando struck India with another blow in the final over of the powerplay when Suryakumar played a sweep from long off straight down the neck of fine leg.
Gill, Parag gradual restoration
With India 30 for 4 inside six overs, Gill and Shivam Dube looked to stabilize the innings. But the duo could only add a run-a-ball 18 as Ramesh Mendis had Dube caught behind, with Kusal Mendis winning the catch in the second attempt.
Gill and Riyan Parag took India past 50 in the ninth over. Two overs later, Parag ended a 33-ball boundary drought with a four off Ramesh Mendis. Soon after, he blasted Wanindu Hasaranga over deep midwicket for two sixes in three balls as the spinner erred on the fuller side.
Parag and Gill added 54 off 40 balls before Hasaranga dismissed both in the same over. Gil was the first to go. He went down to the ground only to be beaten by the turn and swim away. Three balls later, Parag hit a half-tracker into the hands of deep midwicket. At 105 for 7 in the 16th over, India were in danger of going away.
Washington’s last cameo
Playing his first match in the series, Washington showed his worth with the bat at No. 8. He hit two fours and a six in his 18-ball 25 and added 32 off 24 balls for the eighth wicket along with Ravi Bishnoi. Thanks to their partnership, India scored 35 in the last five overs and reached a respectable 137 for 9. In the absence of Pathirana, the Sri Lankan spinners bowled 14 overs for a combined figure of 6 for 107.
Nissanka, Mendis set the platform
Nissanka and Kusal Mendis got off to a slow start, scoring just four runs in the first two overs. Nissanka then broke the deadlock with three fours off Khaleel Ahmed in the third over. Two overs later, he reversed Washington through cover point for another boundary.
India knew they needed wickets, so Suryakumar gave Mohammed Siraj a third over in the powerplay. He did give a chance, challenging the outside edge of Kusal Mendis’s bat, but Samson wrong-footed behind the stumps and dropped it. To make it sting even more, Kusal Mendis swept Bishnoi for back-to-back fours in the next over.
However, India did not let Sri Lanka get away with the game. They finally made a major breakthrough in the ninth over when Nissanka edged Bishnoi to long-on.
Perera’s effort was in vain
Sri Lanka were 61 for 1 after ten overs, the target still 77 runs away. But Kusal Perera took the aggressive route and hit five fours in the next five overs. This reduced the equation to 30 needed from 30 balls. India had won from the exact same situation in the T20 World Cup final, but on Tuesday night, they were without Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, their heroes from that game.
While Bishnoi had Kusal Mendis lbw, and Washington dismissed Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka off successive balls, Sri Lanka were still the favourites. only 21 needed from 18 balls. Khaleel then bowled an 11-ball, which included five wides, to further tilt the scales in Sri Lanka’s favour. But the hosts suffered a rude shock.
Hemant Brar is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo