- Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten on 73 as India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the third and final T20I on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer shined with the bat again as he ended the series unbeaten, scoring 73 in the final T20I to steer India to a comprehensive six-wicket win in Dharamsala. With the victory, the hosts registered a third-successive series victory – all clean sweeps – under Rohit Sharma’s full-time captaincy in the format. Earlier, India had defeated New Zealand and West Indies by a similar scoreline (3-0) at home.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Sri Lanka endured a poor start and were reeling at 26/4 in the ninth over of the innings until Dasun Shanaka (74*) took the visitors to a respectable score of 146/5 in 20 overs.
Pacer Avesh Khan picked up 2/23 in four overs for India, while Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Ravi Bishnoi picked a wicket each. Interestingly, Ravindra Jadeja didn’t bowl an over as Rohit Sharma opted to complete the 20 overs with five bowlers – four of whom were playing their first game of the series.
In the run-chase, India faced an early setback again as Rohit Sharma fell victim to Dushmanth Chameera for the sixth time in merely 30 deliveries. The Indian captain was dismissed on 5 while Sanju Samson, who replaced an injured Ishan Kishan, was also dismissed on 18 off 12 deliveries.
However, Shreyas Iyer rose to the occasion for the third consecutive time in this series as he slammed nine fours and a six to score 73 off 45 deliveries. Deepak Hooda (21) also played an important cameo while Ravindra Jadeja (22*) remained unbeaten as India secured a six-wicket win.
Shreyas Iyer was named both, the player of the match and the player of the series for his exemplary performances throughout the three games.
Team India will now return to action in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, that begins on March 4 in Mohali.
