IND vs SL: Washington Sundar takes 2 wickets in Super Over, India wins a losing 3rd T20I against Sri Lanka

    It remains a mystery how Sri Lanka, which had dominated until the 15th over, allowed the game to go into the Super Over.

    Washington Sundar

    Washington Sundar

    Playing the first game of this series, Washington Sundar was given the chance to bowl in the Super Over of the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka. It remains a mystery how Sri Lanka, which had dominated until the 15th over, allowed the game to go into the Super Over, especially with wickets falling to non-regular bowlers like Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav.

    In the Super Over, Sundar started with a wide ball, followed by a single run scored by the batter. However, Sundar soon took two crucial wickets, dismissing Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka. When it came to the 2 runs that Sri Lanka managed to score in the Super Over, the host nation fumbled as they misfielded a shot from Suryakumar Yadav, which went for four runs. With this, the Men in Blue completed a clean sweep in the three-match T20I series.

    Earlier, India, who had already won the T20I series with two victories, suffered a batting collapse in the 3rd game. They were asked to bat first, and they scored just 137 runs. For this match, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya were rested.

    Yashasvi Jaiswal was bowled for 10 off 9 balls and Sanju Samson was out for a duck after just 4 balls, which caused India's innings to collapse early on. Rinku Singh was out for just one run, disappointing fans who had been expecting him to bat higher in the order. The loss of captain Suryakumar Yadav for eight from nine balls severely hurt India's chances. Off just 14 balls, Shivam Dube added just 13 seeing India lose 5 wickets.

    Shubman Gill scored 39 off 37 balls, and Washington Sundar scored 25 off 18, Riyan Parag scored 26 off 18, and Ravi Bishnoi scored 8 off 8 to help India reach their target. For Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana took three wickets, while Wanindu Hasaranga took two. Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Asitha Fernando and Ramesh Mendi all contributed one each. 

    To chase down the modest total, Sri Lanka started cautiously, with the openers scoring 35 runs during the powerplay. They gradually increased their scoring rate and formed a fifty-run partnership, but Pathum Nissanka (26 off 27) fell to Ravi Bishnoi. Sri Lanka appeared to be in control with the two Kusals at the crease, both in good form.

    However, the match slipped away from Sri Lanka despite their strong position. Bishnoi removed Mendis (43 off 41) in his final over, while Sundar took two wickets in his fourth over sending back Wanindu Hasaranga (3 off 4) and Charith Asalanka (0 off 1).

    The game seemed to still favour Sri Lanka with Khaleel Ahmed's numerous wides in the 18th over. With just 9 runs needed off the last two overs, Sri Lanka made a mess of their chase. Kusal Perera (46 off 34) and Ramesh Mendis (3 off 6) both fell to Rinku Singh, who claimed his first T20I wickets. Even captain Suryakumar Yadav got in on the action, dismissing Kamindu Mendis (1 off 3) and Maheesh Theekshana (0 off 1) in the final over.

    Teams:

    India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed

    Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando