By Slogger
First publised on 2022-02-28 07:10:34
India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the third and final T20 match at Dharamshala to complete a 3-0 whitewash. The series panned out exactly in the manner as the earlier one against the West Indies with India winning all three matches against both except for the fact that the Lankans were slightly more competitive and displayed better body language than the Caribbean players.
For India, Shreyas Iyer was the match winning player, particularly in the last two matches as he scored 70-plus in both the matches without being dismissed. In the second match, the Lankans had set a stiff target of 184 runs. But the way Iyer batted, first with Sanju Samson and then with Ravindra Jadeja, India was always in the hunt and reached the target with 17 balls to spare.
India's bowling, its trump card of late, was also excellent throughout the series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar made a brilliant comeback in the first game while Md Siraj and Avesh Khan bowled excellently in the last game. The Indian bowlers are performing so well that it does not matter whether India sets a target or chases one. In either case, India wins.
Of the other batters, Ishan Kishan played a superb knock in the first match while Ravindra Jadeja proved why he is indispensable by batting superbly in the last two matches. That he bowled well too was a bonus. Captain Rohit Sharma had a poor series and D Chameera got the better of him in the last two matches.
The Lankans have to address their bowling woes. Their bowlers were neither penetrative nor restrictive. In fact, they bowled too many loose balls and allowed the Indian batters to dominate the proceedings. As for their batters, while opener Pathum Nissanka played well in the second match, none of the others made an impact. Lack of consistency and application is plainly visible and the Lankans have to lift their game if they want to be competitive.