What happened the last time India played Sri Lanka in a men's T20I?

Two new captains take charge of their respective T20I sides - Charith Asalalnka and Suryakumar when India and Sri Lanka clash. India are the current T20 World Cup champions while Sri Lanka were poor in the tournament in the USA and West Indies.

On the eve of the first T20I, Suryakumar was calm and he said that side is pretty much the same and only the engine has changed - the rest of the carriage remains the same. Suryakumar also has coach Gautam Gambhir as his new coach and it will be interesting to see how their diverse personalities add to the side.

India and Sri Lanka have interestingly not met as frequently as before and the last time these two sides locked horns was back in January 2023. On that occasion, Suryakumar Yadav notched up his third T20I hundred as India blew away Sri Lanka by 91 runs.

Axar Patel was excellent as the all-rounder

India batter first, but they lost Ishan Kishan early to a superb away-swinging delivery from Dilshan Madushanka. However, Rahul Tripathi stepped up with a blazing 35 off 16 balls at number 3 as India flew to 53 for 2 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Suryakumar Yadav then strode out and he got his eye in. He blazed away to score a blistering 112* off 51 balls and dominated a 111-run partnership with Shubman Gill, who played the anchor role with 46 off 36 balls. Surya hit nine sixes as well as seven fours, using power and plenty of precision.

Axar Patel, who was in good form, finished off with a quick 21* off 9 balls, as India powered to 228 for 5.

Sri Lanka never got going in the chase

Shanaka tried but did not have much impact

There was just a 44-run partnership between the openers but they were never quite in the reckoning since they slipped behind the required run rate. Sri Lanka was at 91 for 2 at the halfway stage and still behind the required rate.

Sri Lanka had to go for their strokes, but even in the latter stages, Dasun Shanaka had too much to do but kept his side's hopes alive with a solid innings of 23. However, following his dismissal, the target was a bridge too far for Sri Lanka.

The Indian bowlers showed a better understanding of the conditions as their pacers used short balls to keep the Sri Lankan batters honest. The spinners, on the other hand, kept using a good length as they wanted the batters to take on the longer boundaries in Rajkot.

Axar Patel showed the way with the ball as he dismissed Kusal Mendis at short third man. Yuzvendra Chahal also effectively slowed down his deliveries and picked up his 90th T20I wicket.

Arshdeep Singh did not have the best days but got rid of Pathum Nissanka. Avishka Fernando was sent back by Hardik Pandya while Charith Asalanka spanked a short ball from Yuzvendra Chahal to deep cover. Arshdeep finished with three wickets and Sri Lanka was knocked over in 16.4 overs.