Ravi Bishnoi‘s three-wicket haul headlined India’s excellent bowling performance and a seven-wicket victory in a rain-shortened match in Pallekele, which gave the visitors an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series. About 100 kilometers away in Pallekele later in the evening, it was India’s spinners who dominated Sri Lanka in the second men’s T20I. Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Riyan Parag returned combined figures of 12-0-86-5 to trigger another Sri Lanka collapse and help India sew up the three-T20I series, with one game to go.
Sri Lanka were 130/2 at the end of the 15th over but just when they needed to hit the accelerator, the wickets fell in a heap, keeping them to a below-par total of 161/9. A target of over 180, for which Sri Lanka looked well set, could have been tricky for India on a used surface but just like the first T20I, the visitors strangled Sri Lanka in the final few overs of their batting innings, allowing them only 31 runs in the last five overs for the loss of seven wickets. It was a phase of play that went a long way in deciding the match and the series.
Pitch and Toss
The Pallekele stadium pitch tends to favour batters, particularly in the evening when the floodlights are on, as the ball travels more easily off the bat. However, as the match progresses, bowlers who can vary their pace become increasingly effective. Teams batting first typically aim for around 170 runs, considered a competitive total at this venue. Despite this, the presence of dew in evening matches often leads teams to prefer chasing, as it can make bowling more challenging later in the game.
In the LPL, the average first-innings total in Pallekele across five matches was 185. During those games, spinners fared much better, registering an economy of 7.64, as compared to fast bowlers, who went for 10.58 runs per over. There is a forecast for rain during the daytime but not in the evening. So the match should be largely unaffected.
The weather is expected to be pleasant but sultry. Once a venue of high scores – and also one of the highest ever in T20Is – Pallekele hasn’t hosted too many T20Is in recent years. However, it would be a surprise if the Saturday night contest wouldn’t be another high-scoring encounter.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl after a delayed start and bought in Sanju Samson for Shubman Gill. Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka batting first made one change bringing in Ramesh Mendis for Dilshan Madhushanka.
Indian bowlers fell short in the PowerPlay again
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera ensured a productive PowerPlay for Sri Lanka, catching India on the hop in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah once again. Nissanka, in particular, seemed to have picked up the threads from last night pretty well, capitalizing on an erratic start from Mohammed Siraj to gain momentum this time around.
And when Kusal Mendis was caught in front of the circle off a slower delivery from Arshdeep Singh, Perera came out and hit a boundary first-ball as if to signal that Sri Lanka were going to keep going full throttle. And that’s how it played out. A six and a four off Siraj followed from Perera in the next over and even though India bowled just the one over of spin inside the first-six tonight, the change in tack didn’t lead to more success upfront.

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka dashed out of the blocks, scoring 54 for 1 in the powerplay. With the ball not swinging for Mohammed Siraj or Arshdeep Singh, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis had the license to pump the ball over the top.
Mendis had hoisted an on-pace seam-up delivery from Arshdeep for a four over mid-on, but when the left-arm seamer took pace off and bowled a cutter into the pitch, he could only miscue it to the infielder. Nissanka and Kusal Perera, though, kept batting with high intent and kept pinging the boundaries in the powerplay.
Kusal Perera carries Sri Lanka in middle overs
India just bowled the one over of pace from overs 7 to 15, with their spin troika of Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Riyan Parag sharing all the workload among them. Even though Parag found the most turn and bounce on the used pitch, it was Ravi Bishnoi who delivered the sole breakthrough in this phase when he trapped Nissanka in front of off-stump with a googly. Perera, dropped on 32 by Rinku Singh, went on to stroke a 31-ball fifty as he dominated a fifty-run partnership with Kamindu Mendis for the second wicket.
Whenever India’s bowlers strayed into his hips, Perera unleashed Sanath Jayasuriya-esque short-arm jabs and when he raced to a 31-ball half-century, he had Jayasuriya himself applauding warmly from the dugout. Perera had reached the landmark with some help from Rinku Singh, who slipped at the edge of the square-leg boundary and ended up parrying the ball away for six.
Rinku had also reprieved Kusal on 32 in the tenth over after wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi had drawn a top-edged sweep with a leg break. By the time, Ravi Bishnoi had already pinned Nissanka lbw for 32 off 24 balls with a fizzing wrong’un.
Hara-kiri from Sri Lanka as Ravi Bishnoi and Indian spinners breaks havoc
Much like last night, India dominated the last few overs of the Sri Lankan innings. If the hosts lost 9 wickets for 30 runs yesterday, they went on to lose 7 wickets for 31 runs today, a collapse which kept them to a below par total of 161. The slide started in the 16th over bowled by Pandya, which witnessed Rinku Singh redeem himself for the earlier drop with two sharp catches that saw the back of Kamindu and Perera.
Ravi Bishnoi doubled down in the next over with the wickets of Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga, both bowled as the leg spinner finished with 3 for 26. Such was India’s grip on the proceedings that the only time Sri Lanka found the rope after Perera’s dismissal was in the 20th over, when Ramesh Mendis hit a six to break the shackles.
India stuck to four specialist bowlers, including Axar, and backed Hardik and Parag to share the fifth-bowler duties. After impressing with 3 for 5 on Saturday, Parag extracted ripping turn and bounce. At one point, the broadcaster put up a graphic showing the average turn achieved by India’s spinners. Parag had generated 3.7 degrees of turn on an average in comparison to Axar’s 3 degrees and Bishnoi’s 1 degree.

Though Parag went wicketless, he once again showed that he could do a job with the ball. He even allowed Suryakumar to hold Hardik back until the 14th over. Ravi Bishnoi then returned at the death to bowl both Dasun Shanaka and Hasaranga for ducks. Hardik did his bit by having Perera holing out for 53 off 34 balls, with Rinku holding onto a sharp catch and redeeming himself.
Suryakumar shook things up at the death, much like he had done on Saturday when he handed the ball to Parag during this phase. Bowling the 20th over for only the third time in his T20I career and sixth in his T20 career, Axar gave up just eight runs while taking the wickets of Theekshana and Ramesh on Sunday. From 130 for 2, Sri Lanka subsided to 161 for 9. Game over for them.
Rain, Suryakumar Yadav mess with SL’s spinners as India wins series with a DLS win
Three balls into the run-chase, a heavy shower kept the players off the field for over an hour. India’s target was revised to 78 runs in 8 overs and Jaiswal wasted no time when the play resumed, pulling the first delivery after the break for a boundary. Sanju Samson, who had come into the side for the injured Shubman Gill (spasm), went for a first-ball duck when he misread a carrom ball from Maheesh Theekshana but Jaiswal kept his foot on the pedal at the other end, laying into Hasaranga as soon as the recalibrated two-over PowerPlay was over.

Suryakumar Yadav, the Player of the Match from the first T20I, looked in good touch again and hammered a hat-trick of boundaries against Theekshana as India, helped by Hardik Pandya’s 9-ball 22*, chased the DLS-adjusted target with nine balls to spare.
After rain had delayed the start of the match by 45 minutes, it returned three balls into India’s chase and left them chasing a revised target of 78 in eight overs. Sri Lanka had a sliver of hope when Theekshana took out Samson with a skidder and then beat Suryakumar’s outside edge with a carrom ball. Hasaranga, however, struggled to grip the wet ball and Jaiswal aced the match-up against the leg spinner.

With the ball sliding onto the bat after the shower, Suryakumar played a variety of sweeps before he fell to Pathirana. Hardik finished the chase with nine balls to spare and left Hasaranga nursing figures of 2-0-34-1.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Charith Asalanka the loosing skipper said : I am really disappointed with the way we batted at the death and about our middle order and lower middle order including me. We must really improve in our batting. On this pitch, when the ball gets older, it gets really hard to bat.
As professional cricketers, we have to do well. We were behind by 15-18 runs. Unfortunately weather also played something, we can’t control that. It’s easy when it comes to an 8-over game with a wet outfield.
Suryakumar Yadav the winning skipper said : We spoke about this before this tournament – what brand of cricket we want to play. Even if it’s a shorter target or whatever target we are chasing, this is the template which we would like to go ahead with. With the weather around, anything below 160 would have been nice.
The games which we have seen here before have always been tricky. Rain helped us. The way the boys batted, it was wonderful. We’ll sit and decide what we want to do going forward (when asked if they’ll test their bench strength). Very happy for the boys the way they showed their skill and talent and lot of character in tough situations.
Ravi Bishnoi was Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : The pitch was a little different from yesterday. It was turning a bit. Today, in the first innings it was helping the spinners. What I bowl, that’s good pace for me. I stick to my plans. I just love bowling the wrong ‘uns.
The things which work for me, I try to bowl that and wrong ‘uns work for me against the left-handers. It’s a good responsibility to have (to bowl at the death), it means that the management and captain trust in you. I would love to take that responsibility.
A stroll in the park for India with the bat. Chasing 78 in 8 overs, they scored 10 runs off Shanaka’s over. Theekshana cleaned up Samson for a duck and bowled a superb over. In walked Suryakumar Yadav and he joined hands with Jaiswal to take the attack to the Lankan bowlers. While the captain swept for fun, the young left-hander continued his good form. Pathirana dismissed SKY after conceding a six but that hardly had an effect on the Indian batters.
Hardik Pandya hit a six and three fours to seal the deal as they hunted down the total with 9 balls to spare. Earlier in the day, Kusal Perera notched up a half-century and was involved in a couple of fifty partnerships.
Sri Lanka were in a pretty good position at 130/2 after 15 overs. But they faltered in the latter part of their innings for the second time in as many days to finish with an under-par score. The heavens opened up three balls into India’s innings and play was stopped for more than an hour. The strong Indian batting line-up made a mockery of the revised target.
India have sealed the series with a game to go. SKY wasn’t afraid to use the spinners in the death overs on a spin-friendly pitch and they didn’t disappoint him. With the series in the bag, they might experiment a few things. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have to find a way to stop collapsing – 9/30 yesterday and 7/31 today!
Across the first two T20Is, Sri Lanka have lost 16 for 68 in the last six overs. There was so much purchase for spinners that part-time spinner Parag bowled his full allotment of overs and Axar bowled the last over of the first innings in which Sri Lanka could manage only 161 for 9.
Sri Lanka’s best bet to defend that sub-par total would have been to unleash their three spinners on India – they had shored up their spin attack by bringing in Ramesh Mendis for fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka – but rain disrupted them. Though Maheesh Theekshana knocked Sanju Samson over for a duck in India’s DLS-adjusted chase of 78 in eight overs, Wanindu Hasaranga conceded 16 in his first over. Suryakumar Yadav then lined up Theekshana for three successive fours to rush India towards victory.
Matheesha Pathirana dismissed Suryakumar for 26 off 12 balls, and Yashaswi Jaiswal holed out for 30 off 15 balls in the next over, but Hardik Pandya produced a cameo of his own, ensuring that India’s new era kicked off with a series win.