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India show grit and character despite demoralising loss in 1st T20I against Sri Lanka

The Indian cricket team never resigned to fate, and kept the fight going till the very end in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at Pune.

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India fought well but did not have enough runs on the board © AFP
India fought well but did not have enough runs on the board © AFP

India lost the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) to Sri Lanka by 5 wickets with 2 overs to go. The final result makes it seem extremely one-sided, but the truth is quite different. Jasprit Bumrah conceded 13 runs off the 18th over which finally won Sri Lanka the game, but till then it was still not an open-and-shut case. Despite defending a minuscule 102, India’s bowlers gave barely anything away and kept pegging away at the wickets. A few of the Sri Lankan batsmen compounded the matter by playing some irresponsible shots as well. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 1st T20I at Pune

India’s problems began right from the toss. Stand-in Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal called correctly and decided to bowl first on a track that could have been mistaken for a Day One Trent Bridge green-top. Debutant pace bowler Kasun Rajitha struck with his second ball, getting India’s main batsman Rohit Sharma out early. He was far from done; with his sixth ball he had Ajinkya Rahane out caught off the leading edge, and India were suddenly 5 for 2 after the first over. ALSO READ: 10 times Indian batsmen were rocked by rookie bowlers

The Indian batsmen never came to terms with the considerable movement both in the air and off the pitch. Suresh Raina got a life when he was dropped early, and then another when on 18 but he was bowled for 20 by Dasun Shanaka, another impressive but unheralded Sri Lankan pacer. Shikhar Dhawan was out caught at third man in the interim. MS Dhoni tried to pull and edged behind. Yuvraj Singh was unsettled by a short ball that hit him in the helmet, and was out caught and bowled off a top-edge off the next ball. Hardik Pandya was then out LBW. India were 58 for 7 at this point.

It was then that the first instance of India’s fight was seen. India’s most potent bowling enterprise had a partnership with the bat. Ravichandran Ashwin — who played possibly the best innings of the match — and Ravindra Jadeja put on a small but important partnership of 14 runs. Then came the bigger stand, between Ashwin and a man who has rarely been known for his batting, Ashish Nehra.

Ashwin and Nehra put on 28, a massive partnership given the context. Ashwin played with a straight bat, found the gaps, and was watchful of the bowlers throughout his innings. Barring a couple of false shots his innings was almost flawless. He carried Nehra through in their partnership, but Nehra’s wicket was followed immediately by Bumrah’s because of an unfortunate fall. From 58 for 7 to 101, India showed some backbone and gave their bowlers something to defend. ALSO READ: 12 interesting statistical highlights from 1st T20I between India and Sri Lanka at Pune

India’s new-ball duo of Nehra and Bumrah then went about making Sri Lankan lives miserable. Sri Lanka scored 10 runs off Nehra’s first over but lost a wicket in the process. Bumrah started with a maiden over that could have fetched him a wicket or two on another day. Nehra followed up with an excellent over, and nearly had the batsman caught at the boundary off the top-edge, but the ball carried over the ropes. Bumrah bowled another cracker of an over to follow. Nehra struck again in his third over, and Bumrah bowled another economical over after that. Sri Lanka limped to 28 for 2 after the first six overs. An easy win was not on the cards.

By the ninth over Sri Lanka had put on only 39 runs for the loss of two wickets. The next couple of overs were productive for Sri Lanka, but then Ashwin came on to halt their progress by taking the wicket of Chamara Kapugedara.  A few overs later Raina got rid of Chandimal. With 12 runs needed to win from 24 balls Ashwin bowled an over that cost just 2 runs and also picked up a wicket. Despite having virtually no runs to play with India were not throwing in the towel.

It was then that Bumrah bowled an expensive over that saw Sri Lanka knock off the remaining runs. Bumrah’s first three overs had cost just 6 runs, but he was not able to find his yorkers and instead bowled too short. It was the kind of mistake that comes from inexperience, and Bumrah will have learnt from his mistakes.

Sri Lanka beat India convincingly to take a 1-0 lead, but this was a loss India can still take some pride in. They never resigned themselves to fate, and kept the fight going till the very end. India defended 101 with all their might. Had the top order shown some similar fight and put up another 20 runs, the final outcome could have been different.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)

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