India eye series whitewash against Sri Lanka

Overview

India vs Sri Lanka, third T20I
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
February 27, 7:00 PM local

India has clinched the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The series so far has seen the emergence of India’s middle-order batters. In absence of India’s regulars Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant, players like Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson have stepped up brilliant performances.

With the series in the bag, India could test their bench strength and give players like Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan and Mohammed Siraj a go in the final T20I.

India are yet to register a defeat in T20Is after their loss in the T20 World Cup against New Zealand. They've won 11 games in a row in the shortest format, and a win against Sri Lanka in the third T20I will extend India's unbeaten streak to a record 12 games. With their 12th win, India can become joint record-holders with Afghanistan and Romania who have 12 back-to-back T20I wins.

Sri Lanka on the other side has now faced two series losses in a row. After losing the series 4-1 against Australia recently, they are now on the verge of getting clean-swept by India. Overcoming the batting issues from the first T20I in Lucknow, Sri Lankan batters produced some stellar performance to put a total of 183/5 in the second T20I at Dharmshala, but their bowlers and fielders let the team down, allowing India to take their second consecutive win of the series.

So far in this series, Sri Lanka's bowlers and fielders have been a letdown. Sri Lanka's bowling performance has been hampered by the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. The problems for Sri Lanka were mounted by their fielders – their poor fielding in the second T20I was a major factor in India chasing down a total of 184 in 17.1 overs. To prevent a whitewash in the final T20I, Sri Lanka must overcome their fielding and bowling troubles.

Remember the last time

In the second T20I at Dharamshala, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, looking at the conditions, chose to bowl first. Sri Lanka openers Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka got off to a flying start, putting on a brilliant opening partnership of 67 runs. After Gunathilaka’s wicket, Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals and lost some momentum but Pathum Nissanka (75) who was anchoring the innings was joined by captain Dasun Shanaka (47*) and both of them powered Sri Lanka to a brilliant finish.

Chasing the 184, India lost Rohit and Ishan Kishan early, but Shreyas Iyer's (74*) and Sanju Samson's (39) laid the foundation innings in the middle overs, which was followed by a fiery knock from Ravindra Jadeja (47* off 18 balls) that helped India chase the total with 17 balls to spare.

What they said

Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka captain): “It was a good score in the conditions, we started well, but should have done more in the powerplay. The ball did a bit during the powerplay though. We did plan to have Lahiru (Kumara) bowl after the first 6 overs, perhaps could have had him for one more over. The wicket was superb, the ball was coming on nicely and I played to my strengths. We will look to get out of the series with a win tomorrow.”

Rohit Sharma (India captain): "Lot of these guys are quite talented. They just need an opportunity to go out there and express themselves. There are a lot of guys waiting in the wings as well but their time will come as well. We've got to look after the guys who have been in and around the team for a while. We understand all these guys possess a lot of talent. So it's just about giving the opportunity and the backing from our side."