Captain Shikhar Dhawan’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired on the Indian team in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Colombo on July 29, 2021. Coming into the deciding match, the series was tied 1-1, with India losing the previous match after being asked to bat first after losing the toss.
India gave a debut to Sandeep Warrier in place of injured Navdeep Saini, while the remaining combination remained the same. Sri Lanka brought Pathum Nissanka into the lineup.
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However, the innings belonged to birthday boy Wanindu Hasaranga, who picked 4/9 in his 4 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad made 14, Bhuvneshwar Kumar made 16, and Kuldeep Yadav top-scored with 23* as India finished on 81/8 in 20 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan and Sanju Samson made ducks, while Padikkal (9), Rana (6) were below par on a pitch that played on their minds.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka picked 2/20 in 4 overs as well.
The cricket fraternity was not impressed by Indian batting, but was rapt with Sri Lanka’s performance and showed their reactions on Twitter.
Here are the tweets:
