India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I: KL Rahul comes in MS Dhoni's firing line, survives — Watch

New Delhi: MS Dhoni was not at his brutal best during the first T20 International match between India and Sri Lanka in Cuttack on Wednesday, but the legend played a pivotal knock to help Men in Blue post a good total of 180/3. (AS IT HAPPENED/SCORECARD)

During his 22-ball 39-run knock, Dhoni hit four fours and a six, and one of those fours almost hit Manish Pandey. It happened off the third ball of the 13th over, bowled by Akila Dananjaya, with Dhoni walking down the pitch to hit a ferocious straight drive. Luckily for Pandey, he managed to leap at the right moment to escape being the target of a bullet ball.

Watch the video here, courtesy BCCI:

Earlier in the day, Lanka captain Thisara Perera won the toss and put India into bat first.

After a steady start, India lost captain Rohit Sharma in the 5th over, then Lokesh Rahul and Shreyas Iyer took over, but the finishing touch the innings was given by Dhoni and Pandey, who scored 32 off 18 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes.