Colombo, July 28: A depleted Indian team, playing with only five batsmen, could not defend a modest target of 133 despite a valiant effort from its players as Sri Lanka kept the three-match series alive with a four-wicket victory in the second T20 International here on Wednesday.
With nine players unavailable after Krunal Pandya tested positive, India had no option but to play with six specialist bowlers, including one pacer Navdeep Saini, who wasn’t even given a single over.
Dhananjaya de Silva (40*) anchored a tricky Lankan chase after India scored 132 for five. The hosts won with two balls to spare.
Vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/21) was economical till Chamika Karunartne launched his full-toss for a six. The 12 runs from that over brought the equation down to 8 runs off final overs which was very difficult for debutant Chetan Sakariya to defend.
Kuldeep Yadav was brilliant but was let down by his fielders, who dropped a couple of catches. Some poor effort in the outfield also spoilt his figures.
Earlier, India struggled for momentum against the Sri Lankan spinners on a sluggish track, managing 132 for five.
Debutant Devdutt Padikkal, though, in his brief innings gave a glimpse of a bright future.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan aware of a thin-on experience batting line-up had a cautious approach on a track where the ball simply refused to come onto the bat.
With heavy rain slowing the outfield, run-making became an ordeal.
Brief Scores
India 132/5 in 20 overs
(S Dhawan 40, D Padikkal 29; A Dananjaya 2/29)
Sri Lanka 133/6 in 19.4 overs
(D de Silva 40*, M Bhanuka 36; K Yadav 2/30). (PTI)
