Series Level; Dhoni-led India win

India made no changes to their playing eleven.

Sri Lanka made just one change to the eleven that (Dickwel)last played the Indians – Niroshan made way for Tillakaratne Dilshan.

On winning the toss, Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s skipper, inserted the hosts.

The Powerplay of India’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 70, without the loss of a wicket.

India’s openers put on 50 off 4.4 overs (28 balls). Sri Lanka hadn’t conceded any extras at that point. While Rohit Sharma’s contribution to the partnership was 18, the contribution of Shikhar Dhawan, the player of the match, to it was 33.

Dhawan’s half-century – which included seven boundaries and a couple of sixes – came off 22 balls. He eventually scored 51 off 25 balls. Seven overs into the match, he was caught by Chandimal. Dushmantha Chameera broke the 75-run partnership.

India scored 100 off 11 overs (66 balls). Sri Lanka had conceded four extras at that point.

Sharma, whose 36-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 43. Thirty-seven balls after Dhawan’s dismissal, he was caught by Chameera, who broke the 47-run stand.

Ajinkya Rahane, whose 21-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 25. Seven balls later, he was caught by Dilshan. Sachithra Senanayake broke the five-run stand.

India scored 150 off 16.1 overs (97 balls). Sri Lanka had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 21 balls. While Suresh Raina’s contribution to the partnership was 24, Hardik Pandya’s contribution to it was 25. Extras’ contribution to it was a couple.

Pandya, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 27. Twenty-six balls after Rahane’s dismissal, he was caught by Danushka Gunathilaka. Thisara Perera broke the 59-run partnership.

The fifth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Raina, whose 19-ball innings included five boundaries, eventually scored 30. The next ball, he was caught by Chameera off the bowling of Perera.

Mahendra Singh, whose five-ball innings included a boundary, scoreD(ho)nine. He was unbeaten.

The sixth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Yuvraj Singh, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. A ball after Raina’s dismissal, he was caught by Senanayake off the bowling of Perera, who completed his hat-trick.

Ravindra Jadeja, who faced a ball, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

Sri Lanka eventually conceded 10 extras. India scored 196 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets off 20 overs.

Dasun Shanaka and Milinda Siriwardana bowled a wicketless over apiece. While the former conceded 12, the latter conceded half-a-dozen. Seekkuge Prasanna bowled three wicketless overs, conceding 21. Kasun Raitha bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 45.

Senanayake bowled four overs, conceding 40. He picked up a wicket. Chameera bowled four overs, conceding 38. He picked up two wickets. Perera bowled three overs, conceding 33. He picked up three scalps.

The Powerplay of Sri Lanka’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 37, for the loss of three wickets.

Dilshan, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. A ball into the chase, he was stumped by Dhoni. Ravichandran Ashwin broke the two-run stand.

Prasanna, who faced four balls, scored a run. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Yuvraj. Ashish Nehra broke the one-run stand.

Gunathilaka had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored just a couple. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Dhoni. Nehra broke the 13-run stand.

Sri Lanka scored 50 off 8.1 overs (49 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 44 balls. While Chandimal’s contribution to the partnership was 18, Chamara Kapugedera’s contribution to it was 32. Extras didn’t contribute to the partnership.

Kapugedera, whose 27-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, didn’t add to the aforementioned score. Forty-eight balls after Gunathilaka’s dismissal, he was caught by Pandya. Jadeja broke the 52-run partnership.

The fifth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Chandimal, whose 30-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, eventually scored 31. The next ball, he was stumped by Dhoni off the bowling of Jadeja.

Siriwardana, whose 20-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 28. He was unbeaten.

Sri Lanka scored 100 off 14.5 overs (89 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Shanaka, whose 18-ball innings included three sixes, scored 27. Twenty-nine balls later, he was caught by Raina. Ashwin broke the 48-run stand.

Perera, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Rahane. Ashwin broke the one-run stand.

Senanayake, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Five balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Jasprit Bumrah, who broke the two-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Chameera, who faced three balls, didn’t open his account. Three balls later, he was dismissed by Bumrah.

Rajitha had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored just three. He was unbeaten.

India eventually conceded three extras. Sri Lanka, who scored 127 for the loss of nine wickets off 20 overs, won by 69 runs.

Pandya bowled a wicketless over, conceding five. Raina bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceding 22. Yuvraj bowled three wicketless overs, conceding 19.

Nehra and Bumrah bowled three overs each, picking up a couple of wickets apiece. While the former conceded 26, the latter conceded 17. Jadeja bowled four overs, conceding 24. He picked up a couple of wickets. Ashwin bowled four overs, conceding 14. He picked up three scalps.

India levelled the three-match series 1-1.

Sri Lanka triumph; India D(hon)isappointed

India made just one change to their playing eleven – Virat Kohli made way for Ajinkya Rahane.

Sri Lanka made nine Cha(mara)nges to the eleven that (Mahe)last played the Indians – Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga made way for a couple of Twenty20 International debutants (Niroshan Dickwella and Kasun Rajitha, the player of the match), Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal (who was leading the team, and inserted the hosts on winning the toss), Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Seekkuge Prasanna, and Dushmantha Chameera.

The Powerplay of India’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth innings. They scored 40, and lost three wickets.

India’s openers didn’t get off the (Shar)mark. Rohit, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t open his account. A couple of balls into the match, he was caught by Chameera off the bowling of Rajitha.

Rahane, who faced four balls, scored as many. His runs came by way of a boundary. Four balls later, he was caught by Chandimal. Rajitha broke the four-run stand.

Shikhar Dhawan, whose 13-ball innings included a six, scored nine. Four overs later, he was caught by Gunathilaka. Rajitha broke the 27-run stand.

Gunathilaka dropped a couple of catches, and Suresh Raina was the beneficiary on both occasions. The first time, he hadn’t opened his account, and the second time, he was batting on 18. The southpaw eventually scored a run-a-ball 20, which included a boundary and a six. Twenty-two balls after Dhawan’s dismissal, Shanaka broke the 17-run stand.

India had scored 50 off 8.3 overs (51 balls). The number of extras they had conceded gave Sri Lanka no reason to be in seventh heaven.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, faced a couple of balls, scoring as many. A couple of balls after Raina’s dismissal, he was caught by Dickwella. Shanaka broke the two-run stand.

Yuvraj Singh, whose 14-ball innings included a six, scored 10. Half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Chameera, who broke the two-run stand.

Hardik Pandya, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a couple. Eight balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Shanaka, who broke the five-run stand.

Ravindra Jadeja, who faced nine balls, scored half-a-dozen. Thirteen balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Sachithra Senanayake, who broke the 14-run stand.

Ravichandran Ashwin, whose 24-ball innings included five boundaries, scored 31. He was unbeaten.

India had scored 100 off 18.3 overs (111 balls). Sri Lanka had conceded 11 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they conceded extras.

Ashish Nehra, who faced 19 balls, scored just half-a-dozen. Thirty-three balls after Jadeja’s dismissal, he was caught by Siriwardana. Chameera broke the 28-run stand.

The last-wicket pair put on a run. Jasprit Bumrah didn’t face a ball. The next ball, Rajitha and Chandimal ran him out.

India were bundled out for 101 off 18.5 overs. Prasanna bowled two overs, conceding 11. He was wicketless, as was Thisara Perera, who bowled three overs, including a maiden. He conceded 10.

Senanayake bowled three overs, conceding 18. He picked up a wicket. Chameera bowled 3.5 overs, conceding 14. He picked up two wickets. Shanaka bowled three overs, conceding 16. He picked up three scalps, as did Rajitha, who bowled four overs, conceding 29.

The Powerplay of Sri Lanka’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth innings. They scored 28, and lost a couple of wickets.

Dickwella, who faced three balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. Three balls into the chase, he was caught by Dhawan. Nehra broke the four-run stand.

Gunathilaka, whose 18-ball innings included a six, scored nine. Twenty-four balls later, he was caught by Dhawan. Nehra broke the 19-run stand.

Sri Lanka had scored 50 off 10.2 overs (62 balls). India had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Kapugedera, whose 26-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 25. Forty-two balls after Gunthilaka’s dismissal, he was trapped leg before wicket by Ashwin, who broke the 39-run stand.

Chandimal, whose run-a-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, scored 35. Twenty balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Raina, who broke the 22-run stand.

Siriwardana, whose 14-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 21. He was unbeaten.

Shanaka, who faced eight balls, scored just three. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Raina. Needless to say, Ashwin was in seventh heaven.

Sri Lanka had scored 100 off 17.5 overs (107 balls). India had conceded five extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Prasanna, who faced four balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

Sri Lanka, who scored 105 for the loss of five wickets off 18 overs, won by five wickets with a couple of overs to spare.

Jadeja and Pandya bowled three wicketless overs each, conceding 18 apiece. Bumrah bowled four wicketless overs, including a maiden. He conceded 19.

Raina, who bowled two overs, conceded 13. He picked up a wicket. Nehra and Ashwin bowled three overs each, picking up two apiece. While the former conceded 21, the latter conceded 13.

Sri Lanka led the three-match series 1-0.