Sri Lanka eked out a last-over win in a thrilling battle with India to equalize the 3-match T20I series 1-1 on Wednesday. Playing the second T20I in Colombo, India posted a below-par 132-5 after losing the toss and being put in to bat. Even though the Indian bowlers kept it tight till the fag end of the proceedings, Dhananjaya de Silva's unbeaten 34-ball 40 and Chamika Karunaratne's 6-ball 12*-run cameo saw Sri Lanka overhaul the total with two balls to spare and four wickets in hand.
Dhananjaya de Silva hits the winning run to level the series! 🔥
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) July 28, 2021
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Despite the batting disappointments, the Indian bowlers impressed with consistent line and length. The spinners, especially, seemed pretty effective on the slow and sluggish pitch of the Premadasa stadium. Varun Chakaravarthy's economical 1/18 and Kuldeep Yadav's 2/30 set the tone of the match and at one point of time it looked like India would defend their modest total comofrtably. However, De Silva and Karunaratne's onslaughts in the last two overs fetched them 20 runs and changed the course of the match!
OUT! BAMBOOZLED BY VARUN! 🔥
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) July 28, 2021
Sadeera fails to pick it and goes for 8 ☝🏽
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Rahul Chahar's presence of mind gets India a wicket off Bhuvi's bowling ☝🏽
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) July 28, 2021
Avishka Fernando has to depart for 11
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Playing the game with four debutants - Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Chetan Sakariya - India started off on a strong note. Batting first, the visitors put on 49 runs for the first wicket in 7 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad's 21 off 18 and Shikhar Dhawan's 40 off 42 helped India pace their innings comfortably.
Check out our debutants being capped as we prepare to witness them bring on a fresh #JeetneKiZid feeling on the pitch! 🏏
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) July 28, 2021
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However, once they got out, India failed to capitalise on the start as the Lankans restricted the surge in the back end of the innings. In the final five overs, India managed to score just 38 runs, losing 3 wickets. Padikkal tried to provide some impetus with a 23-ball 29 but it wasn't enough to propel India to a strong total.
India and Sri Lanka will play the third and final T20I on July 29th, Thursday, which will also decide the winner of the series.