IND vs SL: Rout map to a world record

 

With their 12th consecutive victory, India equaled the global record for most consecutive T20I victories, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the third and final match in Dharamsala to complete a hattrick of 3-0 sweeps at home. They're now tied with Afghanistan and Romania, with only Romania's streak remaining.

Shreyas Iyer's form remained the series' standout when he led the chase of 147 on Sunday, just as he had done on Saturday. He finished the three-match series with three half-centuries — 57 off 28, 74 off 44, and 73 off 45, all undefeated knocks at a strike rate of 174, compared to 130 in T20s.

After Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, and Venkatesh Iyer combined for a top score of 21, the Mumbai batsman was once again called upon to lead the chase. With an unbroken 45-run stand in the 17th over—two balls earlier than they had done on Saturday—Shreyas and Ravindra Jadeja ushered in the victory.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka, who followed up his unbeaten 47 off 19 in the second T20I with 74 not out off 38 on Sunday night, was the reason there was a target in the first place. Shanaka's calculated hitting after opting to bat first helped the visitors recover from a disastrous start of 11 for 3, which quickly deteriorated to 29 for 4, then 60 for 5 at the start of the 13th over.

India had rested Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yuzvendra Chahal, replacing them with Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Harshal Patel, the last of whom was the only specialist bowler to play the entire series.

Despite his inexperience, he is a formidable opponent.

The Sri Lankan innings' first 15 overs were a display of discipline and control by an attack that was entirely inexperienced at this level. Avesh and Siraj had set the tone with a fantastic Powerplay in which they only gave away two deliveries. Pathum Nissanka crushed the first from Avesh straight to cover, while Charith Asalanka cut the second from Siraj over point for four. Until Siraj's misfield at long leg permitted the second boundary off the penultimate delivery of the 10th over, that was Sri Lanka's lone boundary in the first half of the innings.

Sri Lanka were left teetering on 18 for 3 after Avesh and Siraj bowled unchanged during the Powerplay. The pitch had considerable seam, and the mountain air had some swing. And the Indian new-ball combination made it fly, hitting a fair length every time, as if it were the first morning of a Test match. For the hitters, it was an uncomfortable pitch map because they couldn't go forward or back. The top of the order quickly disintegrated due to hapless mishits. Siraj's first pitch was 3-0-9-1, but Avesh beat it with 3-1-4-2, including a maiden despite field limits.