Shreyas Iyer was once again the showstopper in the 3rd and final T20I between India and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first.
Sri Lanka had a rather rocky start to their innings with 4 of their wickets quickly falling at a very low score.
They were reeling at 29/4 when Shanaka once again came to his team’s rescue and smashed two massive sixes. He remained unbeaten on 74.
He was ably supported by Chamika Karunaratne from the other end.
Sri Lanka finished their innings at 146/5 which was quite an easy target for India to chase. It was a below-par score from the visitors.
India, on the other hand, were without the services of Ishan Kishan due to the head impact he had received in the previous game.
Samson opened alongside Rohit Sharma. While Rohit again struggled to make runs, Sanju started in a quickfire fashion.
But both of them were picked up by the Sri Lankan bowlers and India were in a spot of bother.
It was once again last game’s hero, Shreyas Iyer who steadied India’s ship along with contributions from Deepak Hooda and Ravindra Jadeja.
Venkatesh Iyer couldn’t get going and was caught at the boundary.
India still managed to complete the target with 19 balls remaining and bagged the game by 6 wickets.
Man of the Match
Shreyas Iyer for his unbeaten 73 off 45 balls.
Player of the Series
Shreyas Iyer
Post Match Reaction
Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka captain congratulated the Indian team for their brilliant performance. Said that without senior batters they were struggling a bit. Praised his pace attack and said that they will try to adapt better in the conditions from future series.
Rohit Sharma, India captain said he was happy with the collective way in which the team has played throughout the series. He also said that they always are looking to test their bench strength and have always somehow kept themselves pulled back when it comes to T20I cricket. But he also said that they will continue to back their players. Also mentioned that it would be nice to have a few more fit guys in the team. Ended the chat saying that they will think about the Test series once they reach Mohali.
Next Match
India and Sri Lanka now depart for Mohali to start the first Test match due to be played on the 4th of March.
