Debutant Kasun Rajitha picked up three crucial wickets to help a depleted Sri Lanka stun top-ranked India by clinching a five-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international in Pune, India, on Tuesday.
Belying their status as underdogs, the inexperienced Sri Lanka pace attack skittled out their hosts for a paltry 101 in 18.5 overs, India’s third-lowest score in Twenty20 cricket.
After Rajitha took the wickets of India’s first three batsman, Dasun Shanaka bagged three other top-order scalps on a bouncy wicket in Pune, helped by poor shot-selection by the hosts.
Photo: AFP
Sri Lanka made hard work at times of meeting their target, losing five wickets during the chase, but the Dinesh Chandimal-led side eventually eased home with two overs to spare.
Regular Twenty20 skipper Lasith Malinga, Test captain Angelo Mathews and premier spinner Rangana Herath have all stayed at home as they try to shake off niggles before Sri Lanka begin their defense of the Asia Cup later this month and then return to India for the Twenty20 World Cup, but their stand-ins soon showed they would not be overwhelmed by a capacity crowd at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium after winning the toss and electing to bowl.
The 22-year-old Rajitha made his presence felt right away with a double strike in his first over in international cricket. In-form Rohit Sharma was the first to go, caught by Dushmantha Chameera off only the second delivery and Ajinkya Rahane (4) followed soon after.
Rajitha nearly got his third wicket in his next over, only to see Danushka Gunathilaka spill a sitter at third-man to give Suresh Raina a life. His disappointment was short-lived as Shikhar Dhawan was caught by Gunathilaka for just 9.
Raina made little use of his reprieve and he was cleaned up by Shanaka in the ninth over for 20 as the wickets tumbled with alarming regularity.
“They [Rajitha and Shanaka] were exceptional. They hit the right length from the start,” said batsman Chamara Kapugedra, one of the Sri Lanka side’s few old hands.
“We always knew we were the underdogs, but knew if we played to our full potential we had a chance,” he told Star Sports.
India should have been full of confidence after their recent 3-0 Twenty20 away series win over Australia, which secured their place at the top of the rankings, but none of their batsmen showed any kind of form.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who made just 2 before being caught behind off Shanaka, admitted that the team had failed to adapt to the conditions and some of their shots had been rash.
“It was a lot different to what we faced in Australia. After the game, we will talk about the shot-selection,” Dhoni said.
After Dhoni’s dismissal, big-hitting left-hander Yuvraj Singh (10) was the next to go when Chameera had him caught and bowled in the 10th over.
A cameo of 31 by spinner Ravichandran Ashwin enabled India to edge past the three-figure mark, but it was never likely to be enough.
India pace spearhead Ashish Nehra gave the fans something to cheer about with the early wickets of openers Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella, but, showing much more application than their hosts, Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera then compiled a 39-run third-wicket stand which effectively put the outcome beyond doubt.
After their partnership was broken, Milinda Siriwardana also weighed in with an unbeaten 21 to give the visitors a dream start to the series.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was