India 213 for 7 (Suryakumar 58, Pant 49, Jaiswal 40, Pathirana 4-40) beat Sri Lanka 170 (Nissanka 79, Mendis 45, Parag 3-5, Arshdeep 2-24, Axar 2-38) by 43 runs
New head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav enjoyed a winning start as India secured a 43-run victory over hosts Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 series on Saturday.
A spirited Sri Lankan batting unit, spearheaded by Pathum Nissanka and his free-stroking 79 left an Indian team playing with just five bowling options hanging onto crumbs of hope. One of them was scoreboard pressure. Sri Lanka had nine wickets in hand but they still needed 74 off 36.
However, Sri Lanka's chase fizzled out after Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga were removed cheaply, with Sri Lanka being bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
Put into bat after Sri Lanka won the toss, India got off to a lightning start in the powerplay with a 74-run opening stand between Jaiswal (40) and Gill (34). But they lost the pair as Dilshan Madushanka and Wanindu Hasaranga took two wickets in two balls.
Suryakumar (58), who was appointed India's T20 captain last week ahead of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, led from the front, notching his 20th T20 fifty in just 22 deliveries before being trapped lbw by pacer Matheesha Pathirana.
Pathirana then struck in quick succession to dismiss Pandya (9) and Riyan Parag (7) with a searing yorker and lbw, respectively.
Pathirana continued to shine with the ball as he sent Rishabh Pant packing when the wicketkeeper-batter was just one run shy of a half-century, to restrict India to a total of 213-7.
Pathirana finished with 4 for 40 as India finished with 213 after being 135 for 2 after 12 overs.
Sri Lanka's chase was off to a flier with an 84-run opening partnership between Pathum Nissanka (79) and Kusal Mendis (45). Arshdeep Singh provided India with a much-needed breakthrough by taking out Kusal Mendis.
However, Nissanka and Kusal Perera (20) kept the boundaries flowing to pile the pressure on India's bowling unit before all-rounder Axar Patel, who replaced Jadeja in the line-up, took back-to-back wickets to dismiss the duo.
Sri Lanka was bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
Asalanka, SL captain: Of course, we were not up to the mark [with the ball] in the powerplay. But we came back strong and at some stage thought they might get to 240. We could've done better [with the bat]. It [6-5 combination] is an experiment, but this is the way we should go in the future.
Both sides face off in the second T20 on Sunday.
New head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav enjoyed a winning start as India secured a 43-run victory over hosts Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 series on Saturday.
A spirited Sri Lankan batting unit, spearheaded by Pathum Nissanka and his free-stroking 79 left an Indian team playing with just five bowling options hanging onto crumbs of hope. One of them was scoreboard pressure. Sri Lanka had nine wickets in hand but they still needed 74 off 36.
However, Sri Lanka's chase fizzled out after Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga were removed cheaply, with Sri Lanka being bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
Put into bat after Sri Lanka won the toss, India got off to a lightning start in the powerplay with a 74-run opening stand between Jaiswal (40) and Gill (34). But they lost the pair as Dilshan Madushanka and Wanindu Hasaranga took two wickets in two balls.
Suryakumar (58), who was appointed India's T20 captain last week ahead of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, led from the front, notching his 20th T20 fifty in just 22 deliveries before being trapped lbw by pacer Matheesha Pathirana.
Pathirana then struck in quick succession to dismiss Pandya (9) and Riyan Parag (7) with a searing yorker and lbw, respectively.
Pathirana continued to shine with the ball as he sent Rishabh Pant packing when the wicketkeeper-batter was just one run shy of a half-century, to restrict India to a total of 213-7.
Pathirana finished with 4 for 40 as India finished with 213 after being 135 for 2 after 12 overs.
Sri Lanka's chase was off to a flier with an 84-run opening partnership between Pathum Nissanka (79) and Kusal Mendis (45). Arshdeep Singh provided India with a much-needed breakthrough by taking out Kusal Mendis.
However, Nissanka and Kusal Perera (20) kept the boundaries flowing to pile the pressure on India's bowling unit before all-rounder Axar Patel, who replaced Jadeja in the line-up, took back-to-back wickets to dismiss the duo.
Sri Lanka was bowled out for 170 in 19.2 overs.
Asalanka, SL captain: Of course, we were not up to the mark [with the ball] in the powerplay. But we came back strong and at some stage thought they might get to 240. We could've done better [with the bat]. It [6-5 combination] is an experiment, but this is the way we should go in the future.
Both sides face off in the second T20 on Sunday.
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