Pacer Shardul Thakur and spinner Washington Sundar came up with brilliant spells to restrict Sri Lanka to 152/9 in a rain-curtailed match in the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-series at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Light but persistent drizzle and a wet outfield delayed the start of the match, which was reduced to 19 overs a side.
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Opener Kusal Mendis continued his rich vein of form, scoring his fourth fifty in five innings with a 38-ball 55 (three fours, three sixes). However, he didn't get much support from the other end, as Thakur (4/27) and Sundar (2/21) never let the other Lankan batsman settle down.
Upul Tharanga (22 off 24 balls) was the only other notable contributor. He shared a 62-run partnership with Mendis.
Earlier, stand-in India skipper Rohit Sharma chose to bowl in overcast conditions after winning the toss. With captain Dinesh Chandimal suspended for the two upcoming matches for his team's slow over-rate against Bangladesh, Thisara Perera was appointed the interim captain.
Both the teams made one change each—Suranga Lakmal came in for Chandimal, while Rishabh Pant made way for K.L. Rahul.
India lost the first match of the tournament to the hosts by five wickets. They, however, bounced back strongly to outplay Bangladesh in their next match.
If the Men in Blue win today, it would take them to the top in the points table past the Lankans, who are currently leading the table on net run rate, ahead of India and Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka would be hoping for an improved show after they lost to Bangladesh by five wickets on Saturday, even after scoring 214 in 20 overs.
(With inputs from ANI)