India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I: India look to clinch another white-ball series | Cricket News – Times of India

Four months after the World Cup debacle in the UAE, India wear a transformed look, thanks to a fearless approach post the infusion of young blood into the team. Having ticked all the boxes in the series opener against Sri Lanka in Lucknow, the men-in-blue will look to maintain their unbeaten streak.
They will also be eager to complete a hat-trick of whitewashes in white ball cricket, when they take on the islanders in the final two T20Is at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala during the weekend.

After Thursday’s clinical 62-run victory, the Rohit Sharma-led outfit extended their winning streak to 10 T20I games, their longest in the shortest format. Yet to cement their spots in the playing eleven, the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan came up with rollicking performances to remind the selectors that they will be strong contenders when the team for the World Cup in Australia is picked.
Kishan, the 23-year-old from Jharkhand, blasted a career-best 89 while opening the innings with his skipper, before Iyer lit up the Ekana Stadium towards the latter half of the innings with an unbeaten 57 off 28 balls. It was a different Kishan on show from the previous series against the West Indies, where he struggled to get going and made just 71 runs in three innings.
“He (Ishan) constructed the innings very well after six overs, which is usually a challenge for him because we know he likes to play his shots. It was not about coming and hitting the ball, it was also about finding the gaps,” Rohit said after the game.
For Iyer, it was a case of grabbing the limited opportunities with both hands, after having warmed the bench at the Eden Gardens. While comeback man Sanju Samson did not get a chance to bat in the first match, Young Ruturaj Gaikwad has failed to recover from the wrist injury he sustained on Friday and is out.

Rohit Sharma and Dasun Shanaka with the T20I series trophy. (ANI Photo)
Fielding remains India’s only concern
Though most things went India’s way, fielding remains the team’s only weak link. Not only in the first T20I, where both Iyers – Venkatesh and Shreyas – dropped sitters, the hosts were also found lacking in the department during the previous series against the Caribbean side.
Acknowledging the issue, Rohit said the team can’t afford such lapses heading into the showpiece event Down Under. “It is consistently happening. We are dropping easy catches which is not expected at this level. Our fielding coach has some work to do. We want to improve on this and come Australia, we want to be a great fielding side,” Rohit said.
Batting blues haunt visitors
Barring vice-captain Charith Asalanka’s 47-ball 53, Sri Lanka will have very little positives to carry from their first outing. Asalanka, who endured a torrid time in Australia, made full use of the life he got from Shreyas early on in his innings, and provided some respectability to the team’s chase.
Visiting skipper Dasun Shanaka admitted his side was outplayed in all three departments. “We were really poor in all three departments. They batted beautifully, read the game and conditions really well,” Shanaka said.

The HPCA Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala. (PTI Photo)
Theekshana, Mendis out
Also, the absence of their first choice spinners – Maheesh Theekshana (nursing hamstring injury) and Wanindu Hasaranga (still in isolation in Australia due to Covid-19) – made things worse, as the relatively inexperienced spin duo of Praveen Jayawickrama and Jeffrey Vandersay were treated with disdain by the home batters.
Later in the evening, the visitors added Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva to the T20I squad. The duo was named in place of senior batter Kusal Mendis and spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who were ruled out of the T20Is. Maheesh will fly back home, while Kusal will stay back as part of the Test squad and will be added subject to his fitness.
But more than the bowling, it is their ‘lacklustre’ batting effort that the Lankan skipper will be hoping to set right and light up the hilly town with fireworks over the course of the weekend.