With the help of Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 112 off 51 balls, India scored 228 runs for five wickets in the third and final T20 match against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Suryakumar presented another spectacular display of blistering batting while thrashing the Sri Lankan bowlers fiercely. He scored his third century in T20 cricket by playing shots all around the ground. After completing his half-century in 26 balls, Suryakumar took only 19 more balls to reach the triple digit. He hit Chamika Karunaratne for a four and a six in the last over.
Shubman Gill (46), who could not reach double figures in the last two matches, went wicketless in nine balls but then hit Dilshan Madushanka for a six and a four in the third over. Rahul Tripathi scored 35 runs in 16 balls. Earlier, Ishaan Kishan returned to the pavilion after scoring one run in the very first over. As soon as the spin bowlers came, Tripathi targeted Mahesh Teekshana and hit three fours in the fifth over. He hit the first four over square leg, the second at point and the third at mid-off. Tripathi hit Karunaratne for two sixes. India added 53 runs losing two wickets in the powerplay. Gill scored slowly but Suryakumar played an aggressive innings. The world’s number one batsman in T20 completed his half-century with fours. From the other end, Gill hit Wanindu Hasaranga for a six but lost his wicket in an attempt to hit another four. With this, the 111-run partnership also broke. Captain Hardik Pandya (four) and Deepak Hooda (four) were dismissed cheaply. Suryakumar’s aggressive batting continued from the other end, who hit nine sixes and seven fours in his innings. In the end, Akshar Patel scored an unbeaten 21 in just nine balls with the help of four fours.
