Yuzvendra Chahal finished with figures of 4-23 off his four overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets as India thrashed Sri Lanka by a record-breaking margin of 93 runs in the first Twenty20 International in Cuttack.
India’s victory was their biggest in Twenty20 Internationals, going past their 90-run win over England at the 2012 World Twenty20.
It was also Sri Lanka’s biggest loss in the format as it easily surpassed their 85-run battering at the hands of Australia in Pallekele last year.
Being put in to bat first, India got off to a brisk start before stand-in captain Rohit Sharma was caught by Dushmantha Chameera at mid-on off the bowling of Angelo Mathews for 17.
Lokesh Rahul and Shreyas Iyer made up for the loss of Rohit with a 63-run partnership, during which Rahul brought up his fifty, before Iyer was caught behind off the bowling of Nuwan Pradeep for 24.
Lokesh Rahul scored his second fifty in the shortest format
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Rahul went on to score 61 off 48 balls, which included seven boundaries and a six, before he was clean bowled by Sri Lanka stand-in captain Thisara Perera.
Despite the loss of Rahul, India ended their innings on a high as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Manish Pandey amassed an unbeaten 68-run stand to help their side finish on 180/3.
Dhoni scored 39 off 22 balls, which included four boundaries and a six, while Pandey remained undefeated on 32 off 18 deliveries, which included two boundaries and two sixes.
Mathews, Pradeep and Thisara picked up one wicket apiece.
Chasing 181 to win, Sri Lanka lost opener Niroshan Dickwella in the second over as he was caught by Rahul at cover off the bowling of Jaydev Unadkat for 13.
Upul Tharanga managed to make a 16-ball 23 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Chahal.
Once Tharanga was dismissed, Sri Lanka completely imploded as Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav tore through their middle order before Hardik Pandya mopped up the tail.
Sri Lanka’s collapse saw them go from 39/2 to being bowled out for 87.
Chahal was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Pandya snapped up three, Kuldeep took two and Unadkat claimed one.
Thisara was less than impressed with his side’s performance, and said: “In these conditions, we wanted to bowl first, but India batted really well. And we have to give their bowlers credit, two spinners bowling really well in dewy conditions.
“We could have had a shot at 160-170 here. But I think, 180, in these conditions, we could have chased if we had got a good start. But our batting line-up didn’t click. Really disappointed. We are working hard at practice, to handle the wrist-spinners. These are the best 15 we have so we have to stand up and do the job next match.”
Rohit was pleased to have gone 1-0 up in the series, and said: “I said at the toss, it won’t make much of difference because right from ball one there was dew. We expected it to be there for the whole 40 overs. Nothing changed. It wasn’t easier to bat later on. It wasn’t difficult to bat initially.
“It was a great move, for KL to start with at the top. He was not part of the ODI squad, but he came here and showed he belonged. Batted magnificently. And great finish to our innings by MS and Pandey. Pandey hasn’t had much game time in the middle, so to come out and bat like that is good. And MSD, he’s just class. No. 4 really paid off. He’s played so many games for us, won so many games for us and moving forward, we feel making him bat at No. 4 is ideal. That allows Manish and Dinesh to finish games off. For a long period of time, MS has been finishing games off, but we want him to bat freely now, without that pressure.
“We were not sure what the ideal score would be, with dew and the wicket playing weirdly. So I thought 180 was a great effort. Chahal and Kuldeep have always been our wicket-taking options in the middle. They understand what the team expects and they come out and deliver. No words can describe how good they have been for us. The fast bowlers as well, Jaydev playing his first game after a long time, taking an early wicket. Bumrah and Pandya keeping things tight. Conditions weren’t easy and they did very very well.”
Chahal was named Man of the Match, and said: “When we started bowling, I was confused. But you need a little luck, I got Tharanga out down leg and it started working form there. I was mixing up the googly and the leg-spinner, and varying my pace to the left-handers. You need to have variations.
“We’ve practiced with wet balls, and the wicket was turning, so we just bowled accordingly. I enjoy Kuldeep’s bowling and he enjoys mine. But we had a good total on the board and we can flight the ball and attack the batsmen.”