The opening game of Nidhahas T20 Trophy won by Sri Lanka by five wickets, after superb batting by Kusal and Thisara’s late cameo. India batting first managed to score 174 although they lost few quick wickets inside power play. Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey settled a partnership which gave India a breather and with the help of Shikhar’s 90 they could reach to this total.
Chasing 175 wasn’t an easy task, but Kusal Perera gave Sri Lanka an unbelievable start. Which enabled them to chase this target inside 19 overs. Notable point in the innings was when Kusal pulled off the second fastest T20I fifty by a Sri Lanka batsman (22 balls). By the end of 16th over, Sri Lanka required 35 off 24 balls. Vijay Shankar went for 11 runs, taking the equation down to 24 off the final 3. Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka provided the concluding twist in the tale by cracking 16 off Unadkat’s over, leaving India to defend six off the last 12 balls, which they couldn’t.
Player of The Match: Kusal Perera (SL)
Brief scorecard:
India 174/5 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 90, Manish Pandey 37; Dushmantha Chameera 2-33)
Sri Lanka 175/5 in 18.3 overs (Kusal Perera 66, Thisara Perera 22*; Washington Sundar 2-28)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets.
