Stats: India register their third-lowest T20I total

After choosing to bowl first, Sri Lanka’s young pace attack reduced India to their third-lowest score in T20Is in the first match of the three-match series, in Pune. Considering 12 of the 21 IPL matches on this ground was won by the team batting first, Dinesh Chandimal's decision to bowl was certainly surprising.

But Sri Lanka’s young bowling attack, led by debutant Kasun Rajitha bowled brilliantly on a green track to bring the world No.1 ranked T20I team back down to earth after their 3-0 T20I series win over Australia Down-Under.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s career-best T20I score of 31* ensured that this wasn't the second time India were bowled out for under 100 at home in T20Is in the space of a few months. Only three batsmen got into double figures and the highest scorer of the innings was someone, who came in at No.9.

Despite playing in his 32nd T20I, this was only the eighth time Ashwin had come out to bat for India in the shortest format and the hosts should be indebted to his performance, as he beat his previous highest score of 17* and ensured India weren’t bowled out sooner.

On debut, Rajitha picked up three wickets, while there were three wickets as well for Dasun Shanaka, who had only picked up two wickets in 26 T20s before this match and none in his first T20I match.

Only twice have they managed a total under 100. The first and their lowest was against Australia in Melbourne in 2008, while the other occasion was as recent as October 2015 when they were bundled out for 92 in Cuttack against South Africa.

In the list of their 10 lowest totals in the format, only three times have India registered a low total when they were batting second. Seven of India's ten lowest T20I totals came when they were batting first.

10 lowest totals registered by India in T20Is:

Score	Opposition	Venue	Year
74	Australia	Melbourne	2008
92	South Africa	Cuttack	2015
101	Sri Lanka	Pune	2016
118/8	South Africa	Nottingham	2009
120/9	England	Kolkata	2011
130/4	Sri Lanka	Dhaka	2014
133/9	Pakistan	Bangalore	2012
135	Australia	Bridgetown	2010
135/9	Zimbabwe	Harare	2015
140/7	Australia	Colombo	2012