Washington Sundar on Tuesday (July 30) put in a superb performance to help Team India surpass the 130-run mark in the ongoing third T20I against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Asked to bat first, India started their innings disastrously. They lost as many as four wickets inside the powerplay for just 30 runs. Maheesh Theekshana gave Sri Lanka the first breakthrough by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second over before Chamindu Wickramasinghe dismissed Sanju Samson for a duck in the third over.
In the fourth over, Theekshana struck again to remove the dangerous Rinku Singh. And in the last over of the powerplay, Asitha Fernando took the big wicket of Suryakumar Yadav to leave India reeling at 30 for 4. Shivam Dube was the opener but he did not last long and departed for 13 to leave India 5 down by just 48 runs.
Shubman Gill and Riyan Parag steadied the ship with a much-needed 52-run stand. However, they could not make the most of their starts and were bowed out in quick succession. Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed both of them in the 16th over to reduce India to 105/7 from 102/5.
Castles of Maheesh Theekshana Washington Sundar:
After the departure of Gill and Parag, Washington Sundar took charge with the bat and put in a superb 25-run knock to help India surpass the 130-run mark. His play was studded with two fours and a six. Washington Sundar’s tenure at the crease was cut short by Theekshana in the final over of the innings.
On the fifth ball of the over, the Indian all-rounder attempted a reverse sweep but failed to make contact with the ball, which ended up crashing into the stumps.
Look:
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) July 30, 2024
India eventually finished their innings at 137 for 9. In reply, Sri Lanka has made a steady start with the bat. At the time of writing this report, they were on 34 without loss in the sixth over. The hosts have already lost the series after losing the first two games and will look to win the ongoing game to avoid a home drubbing.
