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Following the win against Sri Lanka in the first T20I, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav hailed the hosts, saying that they played good cricket from ball one of the match
Bowlers' marvellous performance in the second half of the second innings guided India to victory over Sri Lanka by 43 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. "They were playing a good brand of cricket from ball one. They were keeping the tempo, credit goes to them. We know how the wicket plays in the night. We were fortunate that there was no dew. The way we played in the World Cup, that reminded us that the game was still too far. Whatever works for the team, we'll take the call," Suryakumar said in the post-match presentation. Recapping the first T20I, Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, India scored 213/7 in 20 overs with knocks from Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill. Matheesha Pathirana was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka as he snapped four wickets in his spell of four overs where he conceded 40 runs. One wicket each was taken by Dilshan Madhushanka, Asitha Fernando, and Haseanga in their respective spells. Chasing a mammoth total opf 214, the hosts were bundled out for 170 runs in 19.2 overs. With this victory, the Men in Blue lead the three-match series 1-0. The highest scorer for the side was their opener Pathum Nissanka who played a good innings of 79 runs which came on 48 balls which was laced with seven fours and four sixes. The wicketkeeper-batter, Kushal Mendis also scored crucial 45 runs from just 27 balls with the help of seven fours and a six. No other batter than these two were able to make the mark in the match. For India, spinner Riyan Parag was the highest wicket-taker. He took three wickets in his spell of 1.2 overs where he conceded just five runs. Two wickets each were bagged by Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and one wicket each was taken by Mohammed Siraj, Ravi Bishnoi in their respective spells. Suryakumar was awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliant performance. (ANI)
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