Lankan Lions beat India by 16 runs to level the series 1-1

In the second match of the T20 series between India and Sri Lanka, the visitors defeated the hosts by 16 runs. With this, Sri Lanka has levelled the 3-match T20I series by 1-1. The third and deciding match of the series will be played on January 7 (Saturday).

This is India's first defeat under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. Batting first in this match, Sri Lanka had set a target of 207 runs in front of India. In response, Men in Blue fell short by 16 runs and managed only 190 runs after losing eight wickets.

Captain Dasun Shanaka and Kushal Mendis took away the match for Sri Lanka in the second T20I match with their sublime batting. At the same time, the left-handed batter Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav chased down the target brilliantly but they could not cross the line for team India. 

Sri Lanka got off to a great start after losing the toss and asked to bat first. In the second over, the left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep leaked 19 runs in the second over of the SL inning which also included 3 no balls in a single over and from there on Sri Lanka's innings picked up the pace. The left-handed opening batter Kushal Mendis was dismissed after scoring 52 runs in 31 balls, but by then Lankan Lions' score was 80 runs after 8 overs. 

However, Bhanuka Rajapaksa was also dismissed for two runs in the very next over of the tenth over. Within no time, Nissanka was also dismissed after scoring 33 runs. Dhananjay D'Silva also could not do anything special and got out after scoring mere three runs. The middle-order batter Asalanka scored 37 runs in 19 balls to bring SL back into the match. In the end, Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka played a blistering inning of 56 runs in 22 balls and took Sri Lanka's score to 206 runs for six wickets.

Chasing a big target, India got off to a very poor start. India lost both openers cheaply in the second over of the innings. Kasun Rajitha dismissed the left-handed batter Kishan for two and Shubman Gill for five runs. The debutant Rahul Tripathi was also dismissed after scoring five runs. After losing three wickets in the cluster for 21 runs, the home side put themselves into big trouble. Captain Hardik Pandya was also dismissed after scoring 12 runs till that moment India lost 4 wickets just for 34 runs while still more than 170 runs to chase.

The number T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda made a small partnership, but Hooda also went back to the pavilion after scoring nine runs. The crucial partnership between Suryakumar and Axar Patel brought the crowd back into the game with their unleashing boundary-hitting power. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka earlier also missed an easy chance to run out Axar before he was smashing the Lankan bowlers.

Both the batters together took India's score beyond 145 plus runs. Both the players got India back in the match with their excellent partnership, but in the end, both Suryakumar(65) and Axar(51) were dismissed after scoring scintillating fifties. While Mavi also tried to get close to the target by playing a cameo of 26 runs in 15 balls. But at last, India lost the match by 16 runs.