Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav skittle out Sri Lanka for 87 as India record biggest win in T20I’s

Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a match-winning spell during the first Twenty20 international in Cuttack. (Source: AP)

India recorded their biggest win in T20I’s after defeating Sri Lanka by 93 runs in Cuttack on Wednesday. After being asked to bat first the hosts did an able job with the willow and put up a challenging total of 180. Later on, it was the spin twins – Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal who proved to be the match winners on the day as they scalped six wickets between themselves to skittle out the visitors for a paltry 87. For his brilliant spell of 4/23 with the ball, Chahal was also awarded the man of the match.

India were asked to bat first after opposition skipper Thisara Perera won the toss. In what was not the easiest of batting conditions, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took a cautious approach as the ball did seam around initially. However, skipper Rohit Sharma had to depart early after Angelo Mathews outfoxed him with a ball that bounced more than expected. Once Rohit got out, Rahul took the responsibility and batted admirably. After bringing up his fifty in the 10th over of the Indian innings, Rahul tried to up the ante but was dismissed for 61 (48 balls). His partnership with young Shreyas Iyer ensured that the Indian middle order wasn’t exposed early on and set the platform for the lower order. After facing the axed from the ODI squad, this knock by KL Rahul will surely give him a lot of confidence.

(Source: PTI)

While at one point it seemed like the Lankans would restrict India to 160, a powerful onslaught towards the end by MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey saw India post a challenging total. 21 runs from the penultimate over ensured that India reaches the 180 run mark. Dhoni and Pandey added 68 runs to forge the third highest 4th wicket partnership (68) for India in T20Is.

(Source: PTI)

Chasing a stiff target of 181 Sri Lanka got off to a flier. While Unadkat was miserly with the ball, Hardik Pandya was put to the sword by openers, Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella. But the introduction of Chahal saw the match turn on its head. Within a span of few overs, the visitors were reduced from 45/2 to 58/5 as Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne all departed one after the another. While Chahal returned with match-winning figures of 4/23, Yadav complimented him by picking up two wickets in his quota of four overs. After being taken away for a few runs in the beginning of the innings, Hardik Pandya returned to clean up the tail as the Islanders could only manage to bat 16 overs.