Same pitch as yesterday, which produced a lot of runs. But the deck has been under the covers today. It could be a little raggedy and owing to the overcast conditions, there may not be a lot of dew. Not a bad thing to bat first then!
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
174Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
145.25Avg
SR
2nd Innings
158Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
138.91Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Kandy,Sri Lanka
Updated: 28 Jul 23:00
24.5°CClouds
overcast clouds
100%
Clouds
69%
Rain %
82%
Humidity
8.7 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Expert Team 1
Y Jaiswal
M Pathirana
Expert Team 2
S Yadav
R Pant
Venue Details
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Same pitch as yesterday, which produced a lot of runs. But the deck has been under the covers today. It could be a little raggedy and owing to the overcast conditions, there may not be a lot of dew. Not a bad thing to bat first then!
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That's it from us for now. Do join us for the third and final T20I of the tour, scheduled on 30th July, Tuesday. For now, this is Arya and Bala signing off. Good night!
Well, then. India go 2-0 in the series and take an unassailable lead. Sri Lanka had their moments in both the T20Is, but would be disappointed in having given away all the advantage in the later part of their batting innings. They lost 9 wickets in just 6 overs yesterday, and lost 7 in 5 overs today. The middle-order collapses will be certainly something the team management will be going to analyze come the third T20I, which is just a couple of days away.
Suryakumar Yadav (India captain): We spoke about this, the brand of cricket we wanted to play. Whatever the target is, this is the template that we are going to follow. With the weather around, we thought anything below 160 would be nice. In the past, the matches here have always been a bit tricky. The rain certainly helped us. The way boys batted, it was wonderful to see. Very happy for them, showed a lot of character in tough situations.
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lankan captain): Definitely I am really disappointed with the way we have batted in the death. We should be improving our batting, especially for the middle order including me. Yeah there was a reason. This pitch when the ball gets older it gets hard to bat. As professional cricketers, we have to perform better. The way we have approached things in the last five years, we have to go back to the basics. We were atleast behind by 15-18 runs. The weather also played something. We cannot control that. The outfield became wet after the long break.
Ravi Bishnoi is the Player of the Match, here is what he had to say: It was a little different from yesterday. It was turning today even in the first innings. I stuck to the pace I feel comfortable with it and it worked. I love bowling wrong uns and that works for me against the left-handers. It's a good responsibility to have to bowl in the powerplay as you know the captain and the coach have trust in you.
It was a walk in the park for India in the end. The target always looked to be an under-par one, but the revised target of 78 runs from 8 overs after the rain was just too easy for the World Champions. The toss proved to be vital in the end, and so too the capitulation of the homeside in the final five overs with the bat. India have taken an unassailable lead in the series, hardly breaking a sweat in the process!
Yashasvi Jaiswal came out like a man possessed. He has relied on the swashbuckling style in the shortest format of the game. And the shortened game gave him an extra license, if he ever needed one. He was going after the bowlers right from the word go and destroyed the Sri Lankan attack. Though India lost Sanju Samson in the second over, Suryakumar Yadav complimented the onslaught from the other end. The game was out of the grasp for Sri Lanka before they realized it.
Sri Lanka still managed to send back both Jaiswal and Surya, but it was all too late. Hardik Pandya came out and enjoyed himself with a cameo at the end, taking India home comfortably.
Sri Lanka had placed high hopes on Wanindu Hasaranga, with the kind of spin that was on offer. But the rain negated it in the end and the Indian batters took him apart. Hasaranga going for 34 runs in his two overs made a big dent in the chase. Skipper Asalanka may also have to relook at the strategy of having a fixed entry point for Pathirana. When there wasn't enough to defend on the board, it might have been worth bringing him earlier in the innings rather than waiting for the tail-end.
India win by 7 wickets (DLS method)
6.3 Matheesha Pathirana to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! Hardik finishes it off in style. On a length well wide outside off, width was on offer and it has been flayed away from the bottom half of the bat but the pace takes it away well wide of the deep third man fielder. India win by 7 wickets and takes an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series.
6.2 Matheesha Pathirana to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! That's the power which Hardik possesses. A slower fuller-length delivery around the off-stump, Hardik waits for it, uses the depth of the crease and smacks it with a straight bat over the mid-off fielder.
6.1 Matheesha Pathirana to Rishabh Pant, on a length around the hips of Pant, clipped away towards the backward square leg region and settles for a single.
Sri Lanka finally manage to dismiss Jaiswal, but it might have come a bit too late for them. The Indian batters have taken apart Hasaranga, scoring 34 runs off his two overs. They are just a solitary shot away from victory now.
6
overs
72/3score
4
1
6
W
1
6
runs
Hardik Pandya*
14(7)
Rishabh Pant
1(1)
Wanindu Hasaranga
1/34
5.6 Wanindu Hasaranga to Hardik Pandya, SIX! That's a humungous blow from Hardik Pandya to end the over. Was a short of a length delivery around the middle stump channel, gave Hardiik enough time to transfer his weight on the backfoot and absolutely muscles it over the midwicket fence.
5.5 Wanindu Hasaranga to Rishabh Pant, tossed-up fuller-length delivery around middle, nudged away towards the long on region for a single.
Rishabh Pant, LHB, is the new batter in.
5.4 Wanindu Hasaranga to Yashasvi Jaiswal, WICKET! Jaiswal holes out at deep midwicket. Was a drag down from Hasaranga, around the middle stump and it gave Jaiswal enough time to rock back and play the pull shot. That didn't quite bounce as much as he expected, goes for the pull and gets good connection but the elevation wasn't quite there. Dasun Shanaka doesn't make a mistake.
Yashasvi Jaiswal c Dasun Shanaka b Wanindu Hasaranga 30 (15b, 3x4, 2x6)
Yashasvi Jaiswal is in a hurry to get this done!
5.3 Wanindu Hasaranga to Yashasvi Jaiswal, SIX! Exceptional footwork from Jaiswal, comes dancing down the track to a relatively slower one around the leg stump, gets to the pitch of the ball and launches it well over the long on boundary.
5.2 Wanindu Hasaranga to Hardik Pandya, flatter and shorter around the middle stump, thumped away towards the deep cover-point fielder for a single.
5.1 Wanindu Hasaranga to Hardik Pandya, FOUR! Quicker and fuller around the off-stump channel, Hardik gets down on one knee and nails the sweep, hits it flat and that races away to the midwicket fence.
Video
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Y Jaiswal
M Pathirana
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Hardik Pandya
*
Wanindu Hasaranga
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
