Suryakumar and his men ensured a positive start to Gambhir’s tenure as India head coach.
It was Suryakumar Yadav’s first match as full-time T20I captain and Gautam Gambhir’s maiden assignment as head coach of the Indian team.
Suryakumar and his men ensured a positive start to Gambhir’s tenure as the tourists defeated Sri Lanka by 43 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
One of the highlights of India’s victory was part-time spinner Riyan Parag taking three wickets in eight balls to close out the game.
Gambhir, who remained clam for the most part of the opening T20I, looked animated after Parag took his maiden international wicket by dismissing Kamindu Mendis. The Indian coach clutched his fists and let out a scream.
After the game, Riyan Parag revealed that he had prepared for such situation with coach Gautam Gambhir.
"I love bowling. I bowl as much as I can behind the scenes. At the nets, there was a lot of communication regarding where to bowl and how to bowl. There were preparations for such situations with Gautam sir. If I get bowling in the 16th and the 17th over and the wicket is spinning, then where I have to bowl. The boys made it easier for me, I just had to bowl stump to stump, and the ball was turning as well," Parag told bcci.tv.
Coming to the match, India racked up a mammoth 213/7 on the board after being asked to bat first. Suryakumar Yadav led from the front and top scored with 58 off 26 while Rishabh Pant (49 off 33), Yashasvi Jaiswal (40 off 21) and Shubman Gill (34 off 16) made handy contributions with the bat.
In reply, the Lankan duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis tore into the Indian new ball attack as they stitched an 84-run stand for the opening wicket. After the dismissal of Mendis (45 off 27), Nissanka added 56 runs for the second wicket with Kusal Perera, taking the hosts to 140/2 in the 15th over.
Akshar Patel brought India back in the game, dismissing both Nissanka (79 off 48) and Perera (20 off 14) in the same over, which also triggered a collapse that saw Sri Lanka getting bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.