Never thought it would go away from us - Suryakumar Yadav

The post Virat Kohli - Rohit Sharma age of Indian cricket has begun with a win for the Men in Blue. 

Batting first at Pallekele, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill followed the batting approach that India persisted with under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, and both combined to score 74 runs in the powerplay itself. 

That gave India the momentum to reach 213/7 despite Sri Lanka's brilliant comeback through the spells of Matheesha Pathirana (4/40) and Wanindu Hasaranga (1/28). Suryakumar Yadav was majestic in his 58(26), and the top three and Rishabh Pant (49 off 33) took India’s total to 213. 

In response, Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka (79 off 48) and Kusal Mendis (45 off 27) gave the home team a superb start. Even after the fall of Mendis’s wicket at 84 in the ninth over, Nissanka continued the run-scoring momentum, and by the 14th over, the Lankans were 140/1. 

Even at that stage, India knew it was a matter of just one wicket, as their skipper, Suryakumar, acknowledged in the post-match presentation. 

“They [Sri Lankan openers] were playing a good brand of cricket from ball one. They were keeping the tempo, credit goes to them,” Suryakumar said. 

“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.”

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper expressed disappointment over the performance during India’s batting powerplay and the middle over collapse that saw Sri Lanka lose nine wickets for just 30 runs. 

“We were not up to the mark in the powerplay, but in the latter part, we came back pretty strong,” Charith Asalanka said. 

“Some stage, we thought they [India] might get to 240, we did well. Little disappointed with the way the middle-order batted, we could have done better.”

Despite the loss, Asalanka backed the combination of playing six batters and five bowlers and reaffirmed that, “It's an experiment, and this is the way we should go in the future.”

The second T20I of the three-match T20I series will be held on July 28, in less than 24 hours.

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