Kusal Perera powers Sri Lanka past India

By Madushka Balasuriya

A whirlwind 37-ball 66 from Kusal Perera and some late-order hitting from Thisara Perera saw Sri Lanka overcome a Shikhar Dhawan-inspired India as they got their Nidahas Trophy campaign off to a dream start at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo last evening. 

Set a not inconsiderable target of 175, Sri Lanka were quick off the blocks with the in-form Kusal Mendis hitting two boundaries off his first four deliveries. That was the extent of his innings though as he promptly sliced a full one from off-spinner Washington Sundar to mid-off. 

However, his namesake and Kusal Perera would continue the offensive, slog sweeping Sundar for four in the second over, though he saved the real carnage for Shardul Thakur. Playing just his third T20 international, the young right-arm seamer could scarcely have expected the fate that was to befall him.

His first ball, short of a length, was powered by Perera to the midwicket boundary - eerily reminiscent of another powerful left-handed Lankan opener. 

The second was dispatched in the opposite direction, a short ball marginally outside off-stump dabbed between backward point and cover.

A hat-trick of boundaries was secured with a glorious front-foot thump to the cover boundary, while his fourth delivery the slower ball, was picked by Perera and vanquished over cover again, this time for six. 

Thakur, clearly reeling from the onslaught, overpitched the next one - a no-ball to boot - as Perera took it on the full and scythed it to the left of extra cover for four more. The ensuing free hit was then duly clubbed straight back past the bowler for another four, as Perera completed an astounding six boundaries in a row, only relenting on the final ball, off which he mercifully failed to score.

Perera’s knock saw him reach his 50 in just 22 balls - the second fastest in T20Is among Sri Lankans - and he would have been forgiven for thinking that he had secured a comfortable victory for his side. This Sri Lankan unit however hardly ever does things the easy way and following Perera’s dismissal, India proceeded to claw their way back into the game.

Through some miserly bowling from India’s spinners and complacent batting from Sri Lanka, the home side found themselves needing 35 off the final four overs with five wickets in hand. However, a charmed hand from Dasun Shanaka and some powerful hitting from Thisara eventually saw the Lankans over the line.

Earlier, having been put in to bat on a relatively flat track, the Indian innings was anchored by a glorious, although at times fortuitous, 90 by Shikhar Dhawan - a knock that accounted for more than half of his team’s runs. 

Using just 49 balls, the stylish left hander carved and pulled his way against a determined and disciplined Sri Lankan attack, though he was a touch fortunate in that two top-edges went for six and another slash at a wide, full one was dropped by Dinesh Chandimal - the wicketkeeper going for the catch down and low to his left with one hand when two hands were the need of the day.

While Dhawan was moving along comfortably, the Lankan bowlers did an admirable job keeping the rest of the Indian batsmen in check, as they cumulatively scored just 74 off 71 deliveries. The tone was set in the very first over when a back-peddling Jeevan Mendis took a splendid catch at mid-off to dismiss Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who was a touch early in trying to drive a good length delivery from Dushmantha Chameera. The very next over Suresh Raina’s stumps were rattled by a swinging Nuwan Pradeep full toss, as the left-hander made room for himself to slash the ball on the offside and missed.

Dhawan and Manish Pandey then put on a stand of 95, though some disciplined bowling and work in the field meant the run rate constantly hovered around the eight-an-over mark. Pandey eventually fell in the 13th over just as India would have been looking to accelerate, heaving a skidder from Jeevan Mendis to Danushka Gunathilaka at long-on.

The next six overs brought 56 runs, thanks in large part to some hefty hits from Dhawan, whose innings saw him account for 12 (6 sixes and 6 fours) of India’s 20 boundaries. Once he holed out at long-off in the 18th over, only some late hitting from Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant ensured India posted as much as they did. However, once Kusal Perera got started, it was never going to be enough.