SL vs IND, T20I: Top takeaways for Team India from India vs Sri Lanka T20I series. Suryakumar Yadav emerges out as a bold captain.
The new era in Indian cricket under head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has started strongly. The two-time champions whitewashed the hosts Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series. With the clinical show from the young brigade, the future looks to be in safe hands.
In the first two games at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, India hardly faced any contest. However, in the final match, they showed much resilience to hold their nerve in crunch situations. They went on to win the game in the super over from the jaws of defeat.
A look at the top takeaways for Team India from the series
Bold captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav
Coming into the series, the speculation was on Suryakumar’s captaincy, who didn’t have a great resume for the role. However, he was quite audacious throughout the three matches, especially helping the bowlers in different situations. He wasn’t scared of making aggressive changes in the field positions as well.
Leadership sometimes tends to put pressure on the individual’s performance. But that wasn’t the case with Sky. The 33-year-old was India’s highest run-getter in the series with 98 runs in three innings. His 26-run knock in 12 balls in the rain-affected second T20I game contributed hugely to their victory.
The most impressive part of his captaincy was giving a long rope to some of the young players. Rinku Singh was part of the whole series along with Riyan Parag. When Shubman Gill wasn’t available for selection in the second game, Sanju Samson got the opportunity to open. Suryakumar used himself in the last over of the bowling, besides throwing the ball to Rinku in the penultimate over. This shows his confidence on the side. It will also be a huge boost for the players.
“I said before the series, ‘I don’t want to be the captain, I want to be a leader,’ the India captain expressed at the post-match presentation ceremony at the end of the third T20I. ‘That (opportunities to the other players) shows the character of the team and how happy they are for others’ performance as well. They have made my job easy.”
Quest for more all-rounders
To win the championship, any team needs all-rounders in the shortest format of the game. India realised perfectly how their balance was sorted out in the T20 World Cup 2024, with Hardik Pandya being their sixth bowler. He has been doing well in the role, but the blue brigade did the right thing in looking for more options.
Washington Sundar got a chance in the last game and bowled beautifully. But the biggest change in the series from India’s point of view was giving their batters a few overs. During the first T20I game, Sri Lanka at one point needed 56 runs in four overs, with six wickets in hand. Suryakumar threw the ball to Parag in the 17th over. The Assam-born gave away just five runs and picked up the wicket of Kamindu Mendis.
He finished with figures of 3/5 in 1.2 overs, at an economy of under four. The most spectacular part of his bowling was his smartness, as his thought process as a batter helped him in his bowling. In the second game, he bowled his full quota of four overs and finished with 0/30.
Rinku was summoned to bowl the 19th over when the home side needed nine runs off 12 balls. The Aligarh-born ended with 2/3 in that over. The captain himself went for only five runs in the last over, besides picking up a couple of wickets. That was an impressive step from the team towards bigger success.
Read More: SL vs IND: Samson's failures come back to haunt him; Has he lost claim to a spot in national side?
India’s experiment with different options
Going into the next T20 World Cup 2026, the defending champions will love to have options in their hand. In the series, they rested Gill and brought Samson in the opening spot. When the Punjab batter made his return, Samson was pushed back at number three. Rinku Singh was given the responsibility to bat at number four in the final game.
When India were five down for 48 runs in the ninth over, Riyan Parag walked out at number seven. The 22-year-old contributed with 26 runs in 18 balls, shouldering on a couple of sixes and a boundary. Sundar too did well with his 25 runs in 18 deliveries.
With the ODI series to start in the next few days, the management also gave a chance to Khaleel Ahmed. Ravi Bishnoi played the whole series and ended as the highest wicket-taker. He picked up six wickets in three innings, at an economy rate of 8.41.
They will look to keep experimenting in this format for the rest of the year. India will host Bangladesh next in a three-match T20I series, starting on October 6.
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