India v Sri Lanka, 1st T20I: 5 Talking Points

Milinda Siriwardana (L) celebrates with Seekkuge Prasanna (R) after scoring the winning runs for Sri Lanka (Image courtesy: BCCI)Following an excellent performance in the three-match T20I series against Australia, India were widely touted to dominate the home T20I series against Sri Lanka. With only the absence of the mercurial Virat Kohli, India fielded a pretty strong side. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, were missing many of their key players and had a very inexperienced lineup led by Dinesh Chandimal.The pitch at the MCA Stadium in Pune was made green to assist seam bowling and the visitors understandably bowled first. They made their decision count as they dominated the Indian batsmen and troubled the home side to give India their third lowest T20I total.Although Sri Lankan batsmen lost a few batsmen, the two most experienced batsmen, Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera made sure that the visitors did not miss out on the opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series.

#1 Impressive Sri Lankan bowling

Kasun Rajitha had a memorable debut as he sent the top three Indian batsmen back to the hut (Image courtesy: BCCI)

With Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara all rested, Sri Lanka seemed a much weaker side than India, who had most of their frontline bowlers. However, the Sri Lankan bowlers, who filled in for the experienced ones, took on the challenge set before them and put in match-winning performances.

Kasun Rajitha, the 22-year-old right-arm fast bowler was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up three wickets in his four overs to earn the man-of-the-match award. Dasun Shanaka, known more for his batting abilities, also picked up three wickets while Dushmantha Chameera picked up two wickets.

Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, the young Sri Lankan bowlers did not disappoint their captain as they made full use of the favourable conditions and found extra bounce and seam.

#2 India\'s struggles on bowling pitches

The Indian batsmen failed to stay at the crease long enough to put up a competitive total (Image courtesy: BCCI)

In the second T20I against South Africa in Cuttack, India prepared a pitch that probably did not suit the Indian strengths and ended up scoring their second-lowest total of 92. On Tuesday, it was a similar story as on a green track, conducive for seam bowling, India struggled with the bat and just managed a scored of 101.

From a global perspective, India does not have the best bowling lineup in the world. However, when it comes to Indian pitches, Indian bowlers are able to outclass the opposition bowlers, which the home side failed to do against Sri Lanka.

None of the batsmen in the top order of the Indian batting lineup seemed keen on slowly building an innings and continued to play shots recklessly. The fact that R Ashwin at No. 9 was the top scorer for India shows how terrible the Indian batting performance was.

In the absence of their in-form vice-captain, Virat Kohli, Indian batsmen seemed to lack the ability to bat with controlled aggression and fell prey to a stellar bowling performance from the Sri Lankan bowlers.

#3 Should India have played an extra seamer?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with his seam and swing, could have made a difference to India's bowling lineup

The MCA pitch in Pune looked pretty much like a part of the outfield, it was that green. With such a surface in place, it does cause one to wonder whether India should have played an extra fast bowler in place of a spinner.

Sri Lanka played with four seamers and two spinners, three of whom are known to be good all-rounders. India, on the other hand, played with three seam bowlers and two spinners. Having that extra fast bowler helped Sri Lanka get more purchase from the pitch and trouble the Indian batsmen.

On a pitch that offered good seam movement, having a bowler like Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the side might have made a huge difference. Bhuvneshwar is well known for his ability to seam and swing the ball, and his ability to move the ball both ways would definitely have made an impact in helping defend the small total of 101. In addition, a seaming bowler like Irfan Pathan instead of Pawan Negi might have also given depth to the Indian squad.

#4 Bumrah growing to be a frontline bowler

Bumrah is maturing as a bowler with each innings for India (Image courtesy: BCCI)

Jasprit Bumrah impressed everyone in his first ever T20I series as he ended up being India's best bowler in the tour to Australia. Coming back to India did not seem to be much of a problem to the 22-year-old as he continued where he left off and ended up as India's best performer with the ball after R Ashwin.

Although Bumrah failed to get any wicket, he bowled a very tight line and length while not giving easy runs. His very first over was a maiden where he troubled Danushka Gunathilaka on every ball of the over.

After four T20I matches, Bumrah has an average of 20.33 which is an encouraging sign for the future of Indian bowling. Bumrah's ability to bowl yorkers in the death overs is a quality that makes him a very valuable asset to the Indian team.

#5 Weakened Sri Lanka lineup step up

Sri Lanka fielded a very inexperienced against the top-ranked T20I team (Image courtesy: BCCI)

So many key players were missing for the visiting side as the Sri Lankan selectors picked many young and inexperienced players for the three-match series against India. Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara and Nuwan Pradeep were all rested due to injuries.

26-year-old Dinesh Chandimal led a side that had only two players above the age of 30 – Milinda Siriwardana and Sachithra Senanayake – to a famous five-wicket win over India.

The Sri Lankans performed well with both bat and ball as they comfortably chased down the modest total set by India. With Tillakaratne Dilshan not being picked. their most experienced batting pair of Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera ensured that the Sri Lankan was set on an easy course to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series.