Suryakumar Yadav caused chaos on his full-time captaincy debut by smashing 58 runs off of only 26 deliveries. India began playing a more aggressive style of white-ball cricket under Rohit Sharma, and it doesn’t appear that anything has changed under the new captain. The players lived up to the expectations, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, who most recently assisted Kolkata Knight Riders in winning the IPL 2024. Gambhir understands the value of playing aggressively.
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the openers, created the groundwork for Suryakumar to arrive and immediately challenge the bowlers.
India jumped out to a huge lead when Gill and Jaiswal combined for 76 runs, all of which came on the powerplay. Jaiswal scored forty runs in just twenty-one deliveries, while Gill managed thirty-four off sixteen deliveries. The Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar show began after their dismissals.
Pant performed the function of an anchor, much as Virat Kohli did in Twenty20 Internationals. However, Suryakumar blasted boundaries for amusement and had no mercy on the bowlers. With eight boundaries and two sixes, he gave India the advantage. Even though Matheesha Pathirana eventually overcame him, Pant was able to capitalise on the momentum that his knock gave the Men in Blue.
The 26-year-old batter-keeper was aware of his responsibilities and performed as such. India scored 213 runs in the first innings thanks to 29 runs from Pant in his final 13 deliveries. Pant, who left in the 19th over, would have been frustrated with himself for not being able to see things through. After that, India struggled to finish strongly, which was the aim.
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Axar Patel appeared to be in terrific form while batting at number eight, whereas Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh did not make much of an impact.
With the bowling mastery of Pathirana, Sri Lanka prevented India from scoring more than 225 runs.
For Sri Lanka, Matheesha Pathirana had a great evening, taking four wickets. The pacer would be pleased with his performance on a surface that greatly favoured the hitters, but he would also like to reduce his economy, which was 10 in the opening Twenty20 International.
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