SL vs IND Highlights, 1st T20I: Surya fifty, Parag three-fer helps India beat Sri Lanka by 43 runs

Parag to close out the game. WICKET!! Theekshana looks to make room and loft, goes under his bat and to the stumps. 

Theekshana b Riyan Parag 2(5)

Madushanka in at 11. WICKET!! Two in two for Parag. India seals a 43-run win after looking behind the eight ball at the halfway stage. 

Siraj with the 19th over. Sri Lanka A yorker on the stumps, the non striker backs up too far ahead. Siraj turns and has a shy but misses, the overthrow runs to the boundary for four. WICKET!! Pathirana looks to go big, finds mid on to perfection.

Pathirana c Axar b Siraj 6(7)

SL needs 51 in 18 balls.

Arshdeep with his third. WICKET!!! Hasaranga looks to loft one over mid on but holes out to Parag. 

Hasaranga c Riyan Parag b Arshdeep Singh 2(3)

Pathirana in at 9. Just a single from the keeper. 

Parag into the attack. WICKET!! Shanaka is caught short of his crease while trying to look for a third after Mendis managed to paddle one behind the wicket. 

Shanaka run out (Siraj/Pant) 0(0)

Hasaranga in at 7. Misjudges the delivery and the outside edge runs to short third for a single. WICKET!! The turn does in Mendis. Looked to go back and punch, finds the stumps rattled. 

Kamindu Mendis b Riyan Parag 12(8)

Just five runs off the over. 

Asalanka in at 5. Bishnoi continues, drops a tough return catch off Kamindu. The bowler is receiving some treatment. Four!! Kamindu brings out the reverse sweep and finds the boundary. Four!! Slightly wide, cut through the offside for a boundary. WICKET! Asalanka brings out the slogsweep but only manages to find midwicket. 

Asalanka c Jaiswal b Ravi Bishnoi 0(2)

Axar with his last over. WICKET!! The quicker one foxes Nissanka. He is bowled for 79.

Nissanka b Axar 79(48)

Kamindu Mendis in at 4. Six!! Perera brings out the reverse hit to loft a length ball over third man. WICKET! Second wicket in the over. Perera holes out to Bishnoi. 

Kusal Perera c Ravi Bishnoi b Axar 20(14)

Hardik continues. Six!! Nissanka showing no signs of relenting, picks up a full ball and deposits over square leg. Dropped!! Nissanka lofts one towards midwicket, but Bishnoi can’t hold on. 

Axar into the attack. Four!! Pressure on Axar as Nissanka gets back to back boundaries. 11 from the over. 

Hardik continues. A direct hit at the non-strikers end after the batters look for a couple. The ball runs away for a boundary after striking and will give Nissanka six runs and that brings up his fifty! Four!! Nissanka flicks a ball on the pads through the legside for four. 

A boundary off the last ball ruins a good over from Bishnoi. Seven runs off the over. 

Hardik continues. A hand from Axar at backward point and a good effort on the boundary prevents a boundary. Eight runs from the over. 

Arshdeep back into the attack. Full on the stumps, driven to long off for a single. Six!! Short ball on the body, pulled over square leg for six. WICKET!! Short again, not enough timing and Mendis holes out at the deep. 

Kusal Mendis c Jaiswal b Arshdeep Singh 45(27)

Kusal Perera in at 3. Six!! Nissanka pulls a short ball over midwicket. 

Hardik into the attack. Four!! Short and wide, cut over short third for a boundary. A deft touch to midwicket gives him two off the next ball. Four!! Short outside off, guides over short third for another boundary. 

Bishnoi continues. Four!! Nissanka lofts him straight down the ground for a boundary. Four!! Down leg, paddled fine for another four. Mendis given out lbw on a googly, but a review suggests there was a slight inside edge. 

Axar with his second over. Four!! Mendis moves across and sweeps one over the head of the short square leg fielder. Six runs from the over. 

Bishnoi into the attack. Four!! A touch too short, cut through point for a boundary. 5 wides now, pressure on Bishnoi. Four!! Goes for the googly, Mendis sweeps it fine for a boundary. 

Siraj with his second. Six!! Slightly short, Mendis cuts it over third man for six. Six!! Short again, pulled over deep square for another six. 

Axar into the attack. Four!! Short in length, pulled through midwicket by Mendis. Four!! Axar goes full, Nissanka brings out the sweep to bring up another boundary. 12 runs off the over. 

Siraj from the other end. Back of a length on off stump, Nissanka defends. Full and wide, creamed straight to cover. Huge appeal for lbw from Siraj, not given onfield. A little too high probably, India not reviewing. Four from the over.

Arshdeep with the new ball. Nissanka and Mendis open the innings for SL.

Appeal for LBW first ball, was going down leg. Four!! Nissanka times the overpitched ball through cover for a boundary. Four!! Length ball, Nissanka guides it through backward point. 

Asitha to finish off the innings. Two dot balls forces Axar to go big, no timing and the ball falls in between three fielders. Batters get three. WICKET!! Rinku looks to loft a length ball down the ground, the inside edge knocks the stumps back. 

Rinku Singh b Asitha Fernando 1(2)

Six!! Axar closes out the innings by lofting a slower ball back over the bowler’s head for six. Spoils an excellent last over from Asitha. 

Pathirana to bowl out. WICKET!! Appeal for lbw and given. Was full and straight, Parag completely missed the flick. Pant says no to the review. 

Riyan Parag lbw b Pathirana 7(6)

Six!! Length outside off, Pant moves across and lofts it over fine leg for six. Four!! Length again, Pant tries the same shot but the bat flies off his grip. Balls runs away for a boundary. WICKET!! Full and straight does the trick again. Rishabh is too late to his lofted shot and sees the stumps disturbed. 

Pant b Pathirana 49(33)

Theekshana to bowl out. Full toss, Parag brings out the reverse sweep and gets it past short third. Four!! Full and wide, Pant slaps it past long off for a boundary. 11 from the over. 

Pathirana with his third over. Length outside off, kept low, passing under Hardik’s bat. Four!! Slightly overpitched, Hardik drives it down the ground for a boundary. WICKET!! Even fuller, ricochets off the pad and bowls Hardik. 

Hardik Pandya b Pathirana 9(10)

Parag in at 6. Gets off the mark with a single. Four!! Full and wide, Pant throws his bat at it, falls just short of the deep fielder and runs away for four. 

Asitha with his third over. Starts off with a wide. Two dots balls to follow, as Pant continues to struggle with his timing. Six!! A full toss to follow and Pant whips it over midwicket for six! Four!! Full toss again, cut through point for another boundary. A brilliant fielding effort at the deep manages to keep Pant’s punch to two. 13 from the over. 

Hasaranga with his fourth over. Mistimed....but falls safely in front of long off. Hardik scampers across for a single. Just the six runs from the over. 

Pathirana continues. Four!! Pathirana goes full, Surya drives it straight down the ground for a boundary. Appeal for lbw and the umpire raises his finger! India opts to review. Was full and straight, Surya missed the legside flick. Three reds on balltracking!

Suryakumar Yadav lbw b Pathirana 58(26)

Hardik in at five. Full and wide, beats Hardik’s waft outside off. Good over from Pathirana, 7 off it. 

Theekshana back. Four!! Perfect timing from Surya who bisects the field at midwicket to bring up his fifty! Drop and four!! Pant almost holes out at the deep but the skipper drops one at deep square leg. 11 from the over. 

Pathirana with his first over. Surya manages to inside edge a short of a length delivery to the legside for a single. Pant gets a single to the offside to bring up the 50-run stand. Six!! Short of a length on the stumps, Surya moves across and flicks it over fine leg for six! Slower ball way outside off, cut through backward point where Mendis keeps it to two. 

Appeal for lbw! Not given on field. Hasaranga went full on the stumps and Pant misses the sweep. Might be pitching outside leg. Ball tracking confirms it and SL burns its second review as well. Four!! Surya brings out the sweep, manages to evade Madushanka at the deep. Four!! Another full ball, another sweep to the square leg fence. 

Kamindu Mendis into the attack. Four!! Surya welcomes him with a lofted boundary through extra cover. Mendis switches to off-break against Pant. Five singles to round out the over. 

Hasaranga with his second over. Just four singles taken off the over. 

Madushanka with his third over. Stifled appeal for lbw but Pant was struck too high. Six!! Surya brings out his trademark flick over fine leg for six! Four!! Slower ball, Surya paddles it over fine leg for a boundary. Chance! Four!! Fine leg can’t hang on to a tough catch and it trickles away for a boundary. Was a short ball which Surya looked to pull. 

Hasaranga into the attack. WICKET!! Jaiswal follows Gill back to the pavillion. Looked to come forward, is beaten in flight and finds himself short of the crease. 

Jaiswal st Kusal Mendis b Hasaranga 40(21)

Pant in at 4. Full on the pads, Surya clips it through midwicket for a single. Four!! Edged and runs past third man for a boundary. 7 off the over. 

Madushanka back into the attack. Four!! Length ball on the stumps, Gill lofts it over mid off for a boundary. Four!! Similar length, Gill lofts it through midwicket for a boundary. Six!! Short on the stumps, Gill pulls it through midwicket for a six. WICKET!! Gill looks to go downtown again, doesn’t get enough on it and mid on scampers across to complete the catch. 

Shubman Gill c Asitha Fernando b Madushanka 34(16)

Theekshana continues. Gill tries to make room, Theekshana follows him and sends one into the blockhole. Gill manages to drive through cover for a single. Four!! Jaiswal drills the drive down the ground for a boundary. 

Asitha continues. Four!! Gill guides a back of length delivery through third man for a boundary. Four!! Short on the body. Gill guides the pull through square leg for another boundary. Six!! Short of a length on the stumps, Jaiswal pulls it over midwicket for a six! 

Theekshana into the attack. Six!! Full outside off, Jaiswal lofts it over long off for six! Four!! Full on the stumps, swept through square leg for a boundary. Theekshana pulls the length back, Gill drives down the ground for a single. Appeals for lbw, but Jaiswal had managed to prod outside off stump. SL opts to review. Wickets missing and SL loses the review. 

Asitha Fernando from the other end. Four!! Inside edge runs away to the boundary for four off the bat off Jaiswal. Four!! A touch too wide, Jaiswal finds the gap through the covers. 9 off the over. 

Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal open for team India. Madushanka with the new ball. 

Four!! Short ball on the hips, Jaiswal accepts the gift, lofting it over short fine leg. Dabs one to mid on to get a single. Over pitched on off, Gill drives straight to extra cover. Four!! Shorter outside off, cut through backward point for a boundary by Gill. Four!! Short and wide again, cut through point for a second consecutive four. 13 from the over. 

India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka 

Good surface to bat but might slow down in the second innings reckons Saba Karim and Fervez Maharoof.

Sri Lanka wins the toss and bowl first. ‘Going with 6 batters and 5 bowlers’, says captain Asalanka. 

‘Wicket looks really good. It’s fine,” says Surya after losing the toss. Washington, Sanju, Khaleel and Dube miss out for India. 

Matches played: 29

India: 19

Sri Lanka: 9

No Result: 1

Last result: India won by 91 runs (Rajkot; 2023)

The first T20I match between Sri Lanka and India will begin at 7:00 PM IST.

The first T20I match between Sri Lanka and India will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network. The match will also be available for streaming through the Sony Liv app and website.

It is rare for an Indian cricket series to be obscured from the nation’s eye by another sporting event.

But, such is the glow of the Olympics, that most Indian sporting fans would have their ears tuned to Paris, forcing India’s white-ball expedition to Sri Lanka down the pecking order.

The tour, which begins with the first of the three T20Is in Pallekelle on Saturday, though has something significant to offer. It will provide a first look at an Indian side under a new leadership yoke – Gautam Gambhir as coach and Suryakumar Yadav as captain.

Gambhir, whose coaching experience is restricted to mentorship roles in IPL, will seek to identify a core group and build towards defending the T20 World Cup in 2026.

For Suryakumar, the task will be to fill in the leadership vacuum left behind by the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from T2OIs after the World Cup win in West Indies.

- Pranay Rajiv

Read More: 

IND vs SL, 1st T20I: India embarks on new journey with Gambhir, Suryakumar at the helm

The tour, which begins with the first of the three T20Is in Pallekelle on Saturday, though has something significant to offer. It will provide a first look at an Indian side under a new leadership yoke – Gautam Gambhir as coach and Suryakumar Yadav as captain.

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the first T20i between India and Sri Lanka being played at Pallekele on Saturday. Stay Tuned for all live scores and updates from the game.