Wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi took 3 wickets for 26 runs as India defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the rain-shortened second T20 match. With nine balls to spare, India secured a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Bishnoi was supported by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who took 2 wickets for 30 runs, and pacers Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, who claimed four wickets between them. Sri Lanka was limited to 161-9 in their 20 overs.
However, rain interrupted the game twice: first, delaying the start by 45 minutes with no overs lost, and later stopping play for 70 minutes while India was at 6-0, halfway through the first over of their chase.
When the match resumed, the match was reduced to eight overs with a target of 78 runs according to the DLS method. India needed 72 runs from 45 balls. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 30 runs off 15 balls, and captain Suryakumar Yadav made 26 runs off 12 balls.
Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 22 off 9 balls, helping India reach 81-3 in 6.3 overs. India won the first T20 by 43 runs. The third and final T20 match will be played on Tuesday in Pallekele. The teams will also compete in three one-day internationals.
Earlier, Pathum Nissanka gave Sri Lanka a strong start after India won the delayed toss and chose to bowl. Opener Shubman Gill was sidelined due to a neck spasm, with Sanju Samson taking his place.
Pathum Nissanka scored 32 runs off 24 balls, including five fours. After Kusal Mendis was out for 10, Nissanka and Kusal Perera added 54 runs off 36 balls for the second wicket. Perera went on to make 53 runs off 34 balls, hitting two sixes and six fours. Ravi Bishnoi then took a crucial wicket by trapping Nissanka lbw in the 10th over.
Perera added 50 more runs with Kamindu Mendis, who scored 26. However, Ravi Bishnoi came back to spark another collapse in Sri Lanka’s middle order. Earlier to this, Hardik Pandya took two key wickets, dismissing both Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis, who were caught in the deep by Rinku Singh.
Bishnoi then bowled out Dasun Shanaka on the first ball, and quickly followed with another first-ball dismissal of Wanindu Hasaranga. Bishnoi was close to a hat trick in the 17th over but missed out.
“The pitch was turning today. It helped the spinners in the first innings,” Bishnoi said. “I love bowling the wrong ’uns and sticking to my plans. I enjoy bowling towards the death overs.”
Sri Lanka was 130-2 after 15 overs but managed only 31 runs for seven wickets in the final five overs. After the lengthy rain break, India was dealt an early blow in its reduced chase when Maheesh Theekshana bowled Samson for a golden duck in the second over.
Jaiswal hit two sixes and three fours, and Yadav added four fours and a six. They quickly scored 39 runs off 19 balls for the second wicket. India lost both Jaiswal and Yadav in consecutive overs, but Pandya’s innings secured the win and the series.
