Who Won Man of the Match [MOM] in Ind Vs SL 1st T20I, Today?

The Indian side has performed exceptionally well in the ODI and T20I series against West Indies. The hosts, India, brutally thrashed Windies by winning both series by 3-0. Within 4 days, they are ready to have another bilateral series with Sri Lanka. These bilateral are just paving the way for the upcoming T20 WC 2022. India and Sri Lanka will be playing a total of 4 T20Is and 2 Tests. The first T20I was played in Lucknow. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first. Unfortunately, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Chahar, who has shown brilliant form in the WI bilateral series, are unavailable due to the injuries. Deepak Hooda made his T20I debut. The Indian team had 6 changes. But, that didn’t affect India, and they won the match by 62 runs. Let us check out who won the Man of the Match in Ind Vs SL 1st T20I.

Who Won Man of the Match [MOM] in Ind Vs SL 1st T20I?

Youngster Ishan Kishan who was recently bought by Mumbai Indians for a whopping 15.25 crores INR, was seen struggling in the series that India had recently played against West Indies. However, he had a great start against Sri Lanka. as KL Rahul has missed the series, he got an opportunity to open the batting with skipper Rohit. He seemed pretty balanced since the start of the innings. Ishan had completed his half-ton in 30 deliveries. However, this wasn’t it for his innings tonight. He continued hitting those lofty, power-packed shots. The pocket dynamo had smashed 10 fours and 3 sixes.

It seemed very likely to witness Ishan’s maiden century tonight. However, Janith Liyanage had reached the ball just in time, to take Ishan’s catch. Ishan Kishan scored 89 off 56 deliveries and had put major runs on board for the team. This inning was very much needed to boost the young keeper- batsman’s confidence.

“I got to learn a lot from the West Indies series. My intent wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t positive enough. Pull is my favourite shot, I enjoy playing that shot. It’s a positive thing for the batting unit as well because you need to hit gaps and the grounds are big in Australia. I was talking to Shreyas about the mid-wicket region. He said if you middle the ball you could get a boundary. If you hit the gaps you can get two. And it went my way.”

Ishan Kishan, Man of the Match

First Innings

India had gotten a great start with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan hitting the ball really hard. India had managed to put 58 runs in the powerplay without any loss. Because of this amazing start, it was easier for other batsmen to lead India to a competitive total. Ishan Kishan had hit his second T20I half-century. Rohit Sharma was batting well when Lahiru Kumara clean bowled him, he walked back at 44 off 32. Shreyas Iyer joined Ishan and the duo took India’s batting ahead from there. Surprisingly, Ishan Kishan who was seen having some trouble with form in the series against WI has got a great start in the SL series. Ishan Kishan had played a brilliant knock of 89 off only 56 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and 3 sixes. Unfortunately, the youngster couldn’t score his maiden international ton.

Later, Shreyas Iyer had used the momentum and scored an unbeaten 57 off 28, with a strike rate of 203.57. This comeback of Shreyas Iyer was much awaited. As Ishan Kishan walked back, the Indian team had promoted Ravindra Jadeja, who was making a comeback after an injury. However, Sri Lanka was missing some of its important bowlers, Mendis and Theekshana and all-rounder Hasaranga. India had put 199 runs on board.

Also read: Top Five Best Captains In T20Is Of All Time

Second Innings

India had a strong start in the second innings as well. Bhuvi had picked a wicket on the first ball itself, sending Nissanka back to the pavilion. Moreover, India’s second success was also by Bhuvi, India had put a firm hold on the match by limiting the Lankan batters. As Sri Lanka started trying to build a partnership, a wicket fell. Today, skipper Rohit has used seven bowlers since the match was inclining towards India because of the brilliant bowling. However, captain Asalanka had established two very important partnerships for the team. Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera had played important but not very useful cameos scoring 21 and 24* respectively.

As the wickets kept following, the match slipped off Sri Lanka’s hands. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal had picked 2 wickets each. Yuzi became India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is. Skipper Asalanka remained unbeaten at 53. However, it didn’t lead to Sri Lanka’s win, they could only score 137 runs in the 20 overs. India won the match by 62 runs.

Match Summary

India Vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I, BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

India: 199/2 (Rohit Sharma 44, Ishan Kishan 89; Dasun Shanaka 19/1)

Sri Lanka: 137/6 (Charith Asalanka 53*, Dushmantha Chameera 24*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 9/2)

India won the match by 62 runs.