India vs Sri Lanka, 4th game, Nidahas T20 Tri-series

Pradeep starts the 18th over and begins with a short pitch ball. Karthik pulls it for a four. He had all the time in the world to swivel and place it well. Next one is full toss and he plonks it over long on for four. He follows it up with a single to help India win their second game by six wickets, against Sri Lanka with 9 balls to spare. Pandey remains unbeaten on 42 while Karthik is 39 not out. 

Chameera it is in the 17th over. India showing no nerves at all. Smart batting now from Karthik. They are playing according to field. Chameera bowls full, Karthik tees off like a golfer and get a boundary on leg. This Indian pair has shown the required maturity needed at this level and the approach they should take in such a situation. With that single, India get 10 in the 17th over. Need 9 runs in 12 balls.  

Jeeven Mendis is back. And is welcomed by ba Dinesh Karthik back foot punch through cover for a four. You can't afford to bowl short on this track. This is smart batting from the Indians. They are showing how to do in style. Collect one boundary and then cap the over with singles and doubles. The aggregate of this over is 11 runs, without triggering any panic. India need 19 in 18 balls. 

Thisara Perera replaces Pradeep. After two good balls, Perera bangs it short. Pandey pulls it for a six. That is the way to do it. SL too doesn't have an attack that can do well in death overs. India will get two bad balls in each over and Pandey just has to wait for such deliveries. India get nine runs off the over. Need 30 runs in 24 overs. 

Akila Dananjaya is back. Is SL thinking that this is their best chance to use Dananjaya. They want a wicket desperately. But the way Pandey-Karthik is plying their trade, doesn't look they would want to give Akila another wicket. Even if they collect just six off his over, they would be happy. India get five from his over. He finishes with superb figures of 4-019-2. India need 39 in 30 balls.  

This is a classic back-foot punch from Pandey. Bisects the mid-off fielder to find a boundary. Pradeep bowls it short and Pandey makes room for himself, stands on his toes and punches the ball with his elbow going high. See smart cricket is helping India close in on the gap. As of now, India need to continue in this fashion. India 109/4 in 13 overs. Need 44 runs in 36 balls.   

Jeevan Mendis continues. The match is not out of India's grasp. Its a matter of waiting for two big overs. Karthik gets a half tracker and he cuts it to perfection for a boundary. He might look ugly as a batsman but Pandey is a master at scoring singles. Rotates strike and finds that odd boundary. With a four, India run five more to make it nine of the over. India 101/4 in 12 overs. Need 52 in 42 deliveries. 

If Dinesh Karthik is in India's scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup, this situation is ripe for him to prove that he could be the answer for the middle-order spot. With Pandey, he should get India over the line. Meanwhile, SL sense this is the best time to get some overs bowled from Chameera. Pandey and Karthik have got seven from it. India 92/4 in 11 overs. Need 61 off 48 balls. 

Jeeven Mendis in for the 10th. He starts off well but India have tried to take a sharp single. In the process, third umpire has been consulted. Rahul dives to make his ground but it is really close. Could be anything. Frames show he is just over the line and the umpire says not out. Ravi Shastri breathes a sigh of relief. And this is bizarre!!!. Rahul has got himself hit-wicket going deep in the crease as his back leg touches the stumps and the zing bail flashes. India lose their fourth now. He has been going really deep into the crease to place the ball behind square. Also,  Rahul becomes the first batsman to get out in that fashion in T20s. Sri Lanka break a vital stand. India have a task ahead. India 85/4 in 10 overs. Need 68 in 54 balls.  

Pandey starts the ninth over with a square-cut for boundary. Thisara Perera the culprit there hitting it short. It is just a matter of spending time in middle and let SL work for wickets. The Bangalore-duo are batting with rich sense of the situation and know the importance of taking singles on good deliveries. India collect 8 off it, with 4 singles again. India 83/3 in 9 overs. 

Jeevan Mendis to Manish Pandey. Single there first ball. But Pandey's last ball wasn't too enjoyable as he was startled by the way Pradeep bowled throwing in the towel. An opportunity here for the young guns to make themselves count. Pandey finds a boundary through mid-wicket with a full-bloodied pull short. With a boundary, India have got eight through singles and doubles. Intelligent approach that. India 75/3 in 8 overs

Nuwan Pradeep it is with the ball now. Bowls a short-pitch delivery to KL Rahul and he pulls it to perfection. Now Raina gets a six again. Pradeep tests him with the short ball now and he swivels to pull it for perfection. Wait, Raina out now. Pradeep corrects his length and Raina chips in the hands of mid-off to signal India's third wicket. India 63/3 and certainly in a fix.  

SL get Dananjaya back. He has bowled well. Slow and accurate. Invites Raina to jump out and chip it down long-off boundary for one. Now India should think to bat safely against Akila. These two should try and build a stand and should force SL to falter with their lines. Strike rotation will be important though. India get four off it. India 50/2 in 6 overs.   

Dushmantha Chameera to take the ball. Feeds a leg-side short ball to Raina, the batsman moves away and pulls it down the fine-leg boundary. Two balls later, he moves down the leg and forces Chameera to bowl short. Same result, pulls it over square-leg for another boundary. Then again, Chameera bangs it hard and Raina pulls even harder to plonk it over the stands. India collect 16 runs off this over. India 46/2 in 5 overs. 

This is getting dramatic here. Sri Lanka wrest back the control. Akila strikes again. He is foxing the Indians with flight and guile. Dhawan falls now as he too stays short of the pitch of the ball and ends up chipping it to mid-on. India two down. Suresh Raina, now has a chance to stand tall and show he could do it. More drama follows as the third umpire is called to judge a run-out. Raina dives to make his ground. Just about makes it. India are safe for now. Coming back to Akila, he is bowling like a striker. Now, Raina jumps out and holes it to midwicket for a double. Thankfully, doesn't find the fielder there. India 30/2 in 4 overs.  

KL Rahul walks in. Opens his account with a single. The stage is set for Dhawan for another big knock. A good thing in his case is that he has learnt to be patient and selects the right ball to play his strokes. While Rohit's impatience is getting the better off him. Now, this is poor line from Lakmal. Sprays it down leg and short, easy pickings for Dhawan. That pull shot down the fine-leg has fetched Dhawan a lot of runs so why bowl to him there. Nine runs off it. India 22/1 in 3 overs. 

SL bring Akila Dananjaya with the new ball. With less cushion, they want quick wickets and Akila, with his variations, certainly stands a chance. He is bowling according to the field and is keeping it tight. And he strikes. Rohit Sharma gone again. Rohit Sharma dances down the track and chips it to mid-wicket. India lose first wicket at 13/1 in 2 overs.  

Welcome back: Rohit Sharma starts with a bang. A six and four of Lakmal. He hasn't performed in the last two innings but this could be his game. Two beautiful pull shots to start the innings. India 11/0 in 1 over. 

Last over starts with a boundary. Suranga Lakmal pulls straight down the ground. Thakur comes back cleverly with a knuckle ball. We have a call here for Obstructing the field. Lakmal misses the shot and starts running while Dinesh Karthik's throw from behind hits him on his leg. Thakur appeals but third umpire doesn't budge. Another knuckle-ball and Thakur gets his scalp. SL eight down now. Thakur strikes again. another slower delivery, another wicket. Lakmal balloons it over third man and Unadkat pouches it safely. SL nine down. Thakur on a hattrick. Doesn;t get it but SL reach 152/9 in 19 overs.    

Rohit gets Unadkat back. Proves me wrong. But with no great hitting happening, Rohit must have thought to help Unadkat gain some confidence. But as much as Rohit thinks to save Unadkat, he looks incorrigible. Doesn't learn from his mistakes. Keeps bowling same lengths and gets the treatment as Shanaka clears the cover boundary for a six. Unadkat though finishes with a wicket after giving away ten runs. SL 146/7 in 18 overs.  

Four!! Welcome boundary for SL. Thakur bowls a good ball but finds a thick outside edge that runs to the third man boundary. OOOOOOOhhh. This could have been a blinder from Raina. Raina is flying in the field today. He dives full length and but fails to grip the ball. Great effort there. SL crawl to 136/6 in 17 overs.  

With Suresh Raina coming into bowl, it can be deduced that Rohit is not looking to bowl Unadkat anymore. With Shankar left with one and Thakur with two, he brought Raina in. Two good bowlers to bowl in the death overs. Six runs off it. SL 129/6 in 16 overs.   

Chahal strikes and he gets the big fish. Bowls it slower to Mendis and the set batsman fails to adjust to his pace, giving a simple catch to Rohit at cover. SL six down now and in a spot of bother. Akila Dhananjaya joins Dasun Shanaka. Even though he concedes a few runs early, he usually evens it out later with important wickets. SL 123/6 in 15 overs. 

Washington Sundar replaces Thakur as expected. Strikes straightaway. The slider works for him and splatters Jeevan Mendis's stumps. See if you are accurate, the batsmen will have to improvise to score big runs. Great over this, just three off it. SL 120/5 in 14 overs. 

See what a wicket can do. It gives the captain the confidence to get back to his main bowlers. Chahal is back. He is bowling well but the fielders have been sloppy. whenever he seems to be working out a batsman and thinks to get the set off strike, the double given by the fielders makes it difficult for him to execute his plans. But he finishes his over well. Just four off it. SL 117/4 in 13 overs. 

Thakur is called. You could really empathise with Rohit. He would have wanted to save Thakur for the death overs and must have expected Unadkat to deliver at this stage. But the Saurashtra pacer hasn't impressed much and as a skipper, it is imperative to continuously make efforts to stop the run flow. Thakur hence had to be bowled.  He is showing quick thinking as he knows it will be important to change his pace against Thisara Perera. The reason being he stands like a baseball player and waits for the bowler to hurl at him at great pace. He then sees ball and hit ball. But if there is dip in pace, his timing suffers. Meanwhile, Mendis gets to his fifty but Thisara ends his innings on the last ball by ballooning a catch as cover off a knuckle ball. Thakur strikes. SL 113/4 in 12 overs.  

Shankar comes back. This is the phase in Sri Lanka's innings when India has to work hard to plug the run-flow. These are good moves by Rohit. wants his best medium pacers to operate. And his thinking pays as Shankar splatters Tharanga's timber after the left-hander goes for a pre-planned hoick over mid-wicket. SL lose their third wicket. Shankar's length against Tharanga pays does the trick for him. India delighted. SL Skipper comes in and begins with a six. That was short and Perera was deep in the crease to pull it for a six. Six again. It was like he knew Shankar was going to bowl fuller. Stand and deliver it was from Thisara. SL get 14 off it to reach 108/3 in 11 overs. 

Unadkat to bowl the tenth over. He will be expected to bowl a lot of slower ones. But that is one area, no matter his strength, has proved to be his weakness this series. His line with the slower ones has cost him runs. But he thinks to have taken a cue from Shankar. He is hitting the short of length against Mendis and is mixing up against Tharanga. The trick to surviving the onslaught is to be accurate and measured with length. But wait, Unadkat once again falters with length and gets the treatment. Bangs in short, gives enough time to Mendis to place himself well and pull with all the power to deposuit in the second tier of the stands. SL 94/2 in 10 overs.  

They say fast bowlers hunt in pairs. Chahal to a great extent also hunts in a pair. In a recent interview, he had admitted he was missing his bowling partner Kuldeep Yadav as both of them adjust acording to the situation. But here Chahal is seen going for wickets and is also seen taking the defensive approach. Coming back to the game, one thing is certain though, bowling a little short to Mendis looks to be a safe option. He tried checking Mendis with a fuller ball but the batsman moved across and paddled it to fine-leg. But when he bowled short, Mendis was cramped for space. On the other hand, he knows pitching it up to Tharanga will work well. But wait, he bowls a full toss and the left-hander chips it over cover for a boundary. SL 86/2 in 9 overs. 

Chahal replaces Sundar. Starts with an accurate delivery for a single. But next ball tosses it up and see the ball being pummelled out of the park through Tharanga's bat. I think that is where Chahal has to alter his length slightly. Had he been a yard short it could have been a good ball. Because it was in Tharanga's slot, he just had to complete the swing. Chahal is struggling now. Short and Mendis rocks back to pull it for a six. SL get 17 runs off it. SL 75/2 in 8 overs. 

Vijay Shankar joins in. Starts by hitting the short length. Follows it up with a length delivery. Keeps the batsman guessing. He isn't predictable and that perhaps has worked in his favour. He seems to have worked out the batsmen's strengths. Shankar has kept it up to Tharanga and short against Mendis. Good strategy going in here. SL take five off it. SL 58/2 in 7 overs. 

Sundar bowls his third. Four!! Mendis sweeps him over square-leg for a four. This is not a slog mind you. He has been one SL batter who has not played any rash stroke, instead, he picks his spot really well and makes sure his follow through of the bat gets completed. He also saw the field and adjusted his sweep over square-leg and not towards mid-wicket. Sundar had deep midwicket and long-on. Technically very sound. And because he is technically great, he doesn't find any trouble in nudging around for singles as well. Sundar has been bowling really well though. SL 53/2 in 6 overs. 

Yuzvendra Chahal to bowl the fifth over. Let me tell you, he can't offer width here. Starts well but digs in short on the third ball and Mendis finds the gap between midwicket and mid-on for four. Bowls a no-ball now. Free-hit but Upul Tharanga will be on strike and Rohit could change his field. We have seen until now that the more you within the stumps, the difficult it has been for the batters to work it around. Tharanga steps out and gets caught at deep mid-wicket but SL will get a single. That is a good over anyway. 10 off it. SL 46/2 in 5 overs. 

Wicket!!! First ball of the fourth over and Kusal Perera, the danger man is gone now. Sundar gets his first wicket. Perera though has dragged the ball onto the stumps after failing to connect a reverse sweep. Just the third over and Perera went a little over-aggressive. Doesn't pay today. Interesting field there as well as Sundar has his leg covered. Perera was forced to play the reverse to find a boundary, instead finds his stumps. SL 36/2 in 4 overs. 

You have to give it to Rohit for the way he rotates his bowlers. Shardul Thakur on in place of Unadkat. First ball wide is followed by a wicket!!. Stunning catch there by Suresh Raina at mid-wicket and Gunathilaka has to walk out. Thakur explored the short of length sans width and Gunathilaka doesn't get enough time to pull it away. Muscle-man Kusal Perera joins Mendis. Sri Lanka know they will have to take their chances and Perera is going for it. A good six-over score will propel hosts to a competitive total. Four to Mendis. He upper-cuts it over the infield as Thakur offers width. SL get 10 off it but lose a wicket. 34/1 in 3 overs. 

Washington Sundar has become a certainty with the new ball. Six!!! Gunathilaka pummels it over Sundar's head for a six. SL have started from they left off, literally. In three games, we have witnessed two-type of pitches. One slow and the other being flat. Flight hasn't worked on flat pitches and the bowlers need to be measured, slightly short with their lengths. Sundar immediately has altered his length and also mixing up his pace as well. SL 24/0 in 2 overs. 

And after an hour-long rain delay, we have finally kicked off. Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka walk in for SL. Jaydev Unadkat has measured his run-up. Rohit mentioned at the toss that India have plans today to stop the run flow in the first six overs. A sharp single followed by four extra runs. That is five on the first ball. Six!!! Kusal Mendis is on fire and that swing and follow through of his. Simply beautiful. Unadkat once again bowled that on length, slightly wide, giving the license to clear the infield. Unadkat has been at the receiving end but has made quick amends and keeping it tight. In T20s, fielding is one department that helps bowlers bounce back but Indians have been sloppy today. Again, what should have been a single was given two. SL start strongly. SL 15/0 in 1 over.  

It is going to be a 19-overs a side game at Colombo. Even though we have lost an hour and 15 minutes, there hasn't been much reduction in the overs. Good news this. 

Toss Update: India have won the toss and elected to field. Rohit says the wicket gets better in the second innings and with rain forecast, it is better to have a score in front. KL Rahul will replace Rishabh Pant for India against Sri Lanka. 

For Sri Lanka, Suranga Lakmal is in for Dinesh Chandimal. 

The rain seems to have gotten heavier and the ground has been fully covered now. The deduction in the overs has started and the cut-off time is 9.35 pm. 

Toss Update: Toss has been delayed further as the ground recieved a light drizzle just now. The covers are on again and it looks that the drizzle is getting heavier. Let's hope it clears soon. 

Weather forecast: The ground has been covered by covers as it is overcast in Colombo.