Sri Lanka vs India, 4th T20I: Highlights

Colombo: With a few overs to spare, India registered their second consecutive victory in the Nidahas Trophy after a comfortable six-wicket win against the home side Sri Lanka. With rain coming into play, the game was reduced to 19 overs-a-side but the hosts’ batting woes remained unchanged.

This comprehensive win saw India climb up the top of the table. A crucial 68-run partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey saved the visitors from a scare after the top order fell in quick succession. Skipper Rohit Sharma continued his poor run of form as he was dismissed for 11 runs in the second over. In the first innings, Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with his spirited performance. He has been adjudged the Player of the match.

Some interesting stats were recorded during this match:

- Shardul Thakur became the 5th player overall and 2nd Indian to claim a 4-wicket haul in the T20I format at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Prior to his effort, Harbhajan Singh took 4/12 in the WT20 2012 match against England.

- Shardul’s 4-wicket haul is the 2nd most expensive 4 by an Indian in the T20I cricket. Yuzvendra Chahal took 4 wickets by conceding 52 runs against Sri Lanka in the last year’s Indore T20I.

- Rohit Sharma managed to score only 39 runs in his previous five T20I innings. He averages 7.8 in these five innings in which he bagged two ducks. His best score is 17.

- KL Rahul became the first Indian batsman to be dismissed hit-wicket in T20I format. He is the 10th player overall to be dismissed hit-wicket in this format. Mark Chapman was last one to get out in such fashion when he was dismissed hit-wicket in the recent Tri-Series final against Australia.

- The unbeaten 68-run partnership between Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik is India’s 2nd highest partnership for the fifth wicket and below while chasing in a T20I match. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni shared unbeaten 102-run stand in the 2013 Rajkot T20I.

- India has now defeated Sri Lanka in 11 T20I matches, which is the highest against any team. These are also the joint second highest number of wins for any team against any opponent in the format. Of the 18 T20s played against Sri Lanka, Pakistan won on 13 ocassions.