Shikhar Dhawan showed his worth a month ahead of the World Twenty20 with a maiden half-century, as India scored a series-leveling 69-run victory over Sri Lanka in their second Twenty20 international of a three-game series.
The left-hander, who had failed to score a fifty in 12 previous games, struck 51 off only 25 deliveries with two sixes and seven fours to provide the early impetus. He added 75 runs for the opening stand with Rohit Sharma (43) as the home side notched 196-6 after being put in to bat.
Visitors Sri Lanka, who won the first game in Pune by five wickets on a lively pitch, could only manage 127-9 in reply.
Photo: AP
Dhawan got to his fifty in only 22 balls, pulling and driving with flourish. His dismissal was a soft one, as he guided a short ball from seam bowler Dushmantha Chameera straight to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal in a bid to find the boundary at third man.
Dhawan’s stand with Rohit came off just seven overs and his dismissal slowed the innings a little with India reaching the 100-run mark off 11 overs.
“I am happy to have got my first [Twenty20 international] fifty,” Dhawan said. “I like to play my natural game and once I started connecting the ball well, it all came together.”
Rohit fell to a fine return catch by Chameera, while Ajinkya Rahane (25) fell when looking good for more, leaving Suresh Raina and rookie all-rounder Hardik Pandya to get some quick runs.
Raina struck 30 off 19 deliveries, while Pandya notched 27 off 12, figuring in an important 59-run stand for the fourth wicket off only 4.2 overs.
However, India’s charge toward the 200-run mark was halted by seamer Thisara Perera, who produced a hat-trick in the 19th over, dismissing both set batsman as well as Yuvraj Singh, all caught while trying big hits.
Sri Lanka’s innings stuttered early on, with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin getting Tillakaratne Dilshan stumped by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni without scoring, while pace bowler Ashish Nehra removed Danushka Gunathilaka (2) and Seekkuge Prasanna (1) in successive overs for a score of 16-3 in the fourth over.
Chandimal (31) and Chamara Kapugedera (32) added 52 runs for the fourth wicket, but both fell off successive deliveries from Ravindra Jadeja as Sri Lanka were reduced to 68-5 in 11.3 overs and left with little hope of a comeback.
“The surface was not anywhere near the kind we saw in Pune,” Sri Lanka captain Chandimal said. “It looked like the cracks would dictate terms to make this into a low-scoring contest, but we were all proved wrong. Once India posted close to 200, they were halfway there.”
Ashwin grabbed 3-14 and Nehra took 2-26. They were supported well by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seam bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who also took two wickets each.
The final game is to be played today in the southern city of Visakhapatnam.
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