Dominant India storm past Sri Lanka to seal the series
Shikhar Dhawan reiterated his case in India's T20I setup, registering his first fifty in the format in 14 months – his 10th overall – to combine with KL Rahul for a steady 97-run opening stand after the hosts were put in to bat. That, however, was punctuated with a slice of good fortune early on, with Dhawan being given a reprieve by Dasun Shanaka, who dropped one at deep square leg when the left-hander was on 1.
Shikhar Dhawan is in an absolutely punishing mood in Pune. That's his 10th T20I fifty!#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/hubgkBmdV1
— ICC (@ICC) January 10, 2020
His 36-ball stay included seven hits to the fence and one over it, with Rahul (52) providing great support hitting two fours lesser. Lakshan Sandakan, the left-arm wrist-spinner struck in his second over to dismiss Dhawan. Sanju Samson, playing his first international game since July 2015, walked in at No. 3 and sent his first ball soaring over long off for a six. He couldn't carry on much longer however, as Wanindu Hasranga dismissed him in the next ball he faced. Sandakan then removed Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in quick succession to reduce India from 97/0 to 122/4 in a space of two overs.
Skipper Virat Kohli walked in at the four-down position, and scored a steady 26 but an error in judgement resulted in him being run-out. Manish Pandey (31*) and Shardul Thakur (22*) unleashed some lusty blows in the final two overs, wherein they scored 34 to power India to 201/6 at the end of the 20th over.
Dhananjaya de Silva sparkled with a fine half-century, but that couldn't keep India from securing a crushing 78-run win. The home team's fast bowlers were too good! They take the series 2-0!#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/n2h8egU71e
— ICC (@ICC) January 10, 2020
Sri Lanka had a terrible start to the chase, losing openers Danushka Gunathalika (1) and Avishka Fernando (9) within the first two overs. A terrible mixup resulted in Oshada Fernando's run out while Kusal Perera was castled by a searing Navdeep Saini yorker to leave the visitors reeling at 26/4 in the sixth over. A quick 68-run stand between Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva revived some hope, but that ended after the former mistimed one towards long on off Washington Sundar on 31, to give India the opening.
Sri Lanka collapsed from 94/4 to 123 all-out, with Dhananjaya de Silva waging the lone battle with a 36-ball 57. Navdeep Saini picked up three wickets while Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur bagged two apiece. India took the series 2-0 with back to back wins, after the series opener in Guwahati was abandoned without a ball being bowled.