India national cricket team’s young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi turned out to be a nightmare for former Sri Lanka national cricket team captains Wanindu Hasaranga and Dasun Shanaka in the third T20I.
The third match of the three-match series between Suryakumar Yadav-led India and Charith Asalanka-led Sri Lanka is currently underway at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, July 28.
Expectations were high for former Sri Lanka captains Wanindu Hasaranga and Dasun Shanaka when they came out to bat, but both disappointed their team.
Hasaranga and Shanaka were dismissed by Bishnoi in the 17th over of the first innings. On the third ball of the 17th over, Bishnoi bowled a 94 km/h googly to Shanaka, who only managed to get an inside edge and saw his stumps smashed.
Wanindu Hasaranga was next in charge of batting and he swept hard to counter Bishnoi’s delivery. The former Sri Lanka captain failed miserably in his attempt as the ball went over his bat and rattled the stumps.
Watch Ravi Bishnoi remove Wanindu Hasaranga and Dasun Shanaka for Golden Ducks:
.@bishnoi0056 entangles Sri Lankan batsmen in a masterful web of spin 🕸️
Watch the action from #SLvIND LIVE now on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3, Sony Sports Ten 4 and Sony Sports Ten 5 🙌 🔥#SonySportsNetwork #TeamIndia image.twitter.com/KvfLRxXusN
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 28, 2024
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka national cricket team posted 161/9 on the board while batting first. The best performer of the team in the batting department was Kusal Perera who scored 53 runs.
How did Indian bowlers perform in the first T20I against Sri Lanka?
The Indian bowling unit performed well in the first T20I of the series at Pallekele on July 27. The Indian batsmen did a great job in the first innings and scored 213/7 on the board, which gave the bowling unit enough runs to defend.
Arshdeep Singh, known for getting wickets with the new ball, and Mohammed Siraj, who loves playing against Sri Lanka, could not get an early breakthrough. Sri Lanka’s opening pair of Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka played an attacking style of cricket throughout the powerplay and reached 55/0 in 6 overs.
Even after the powerplay, the Lankan openers were out in full force and that was when captain Suryakumar Yadav brought back Arshdeep Singh who dismissed Kusal Mendis in the ninth over to stop the carnage.
Mendis’ exit had no impact on the run rate as Nissanka was bowling very well at one end and Kusal Perera supported him well at the other end. Meanwhile, in the 15th over, Axar Patel got the big wicket of Nissanka which completely changed the momentum of the game as Sri Lanka went from 140/1 to 170/10.
Axar Patel also dismissed Perera in the same over, while Charith Asalanka was removed by Ravi Bishnoi. Sri Lanka still had Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga in the middle, but the duo were dismissed for 0 and 2 runs respectively.
India eventually sealed a 43-run victory and Riyan Parag emerged as the leading wicket-taker with his haul of 3 wickets. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each while Ravi Bishnoi and Mohammed Siraj picked up one wicket each.