Iyer, Dhawan impressive
KL Rahul scored 45, Shreyas Iyer got 34 and the returning Shikhar Dhawan made 32 as India never really looked in any sort of trouble after their bowlers fired in unison to keep the Lankans in check. The two openers, vying for the second opener's slot along with Rohit Sharma for the T20 World Cup later this year, got India off to a solid start. Rahul looked good, hitting six fours before his ambition got the better of him as leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga cleaned him up with a delivery wide of the crease in the 10th over.

KL Rahul en route his 45 yesterday

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

Earlier, the bowlers put up a good show with Navdeep Saini shining bright as India restricted Sri Lanka to 142-9. All eyes were on the returning Bumrah. Bumrah, who has been out of action after India's tour of the West Indies in July-August last year due to a stress fracture on his back, started off with a wide in the first ball of the match and was hit for a four in the second as he finished conceding seven runs. Danushka Gunathilaka and Avishka Fernando hit boundaries off him in the fourth over as India's premier pacer looked a bit rusty starting off, but in the end bowled a superbly disguised slower to castle Dasun Shanaka in the 17th over.

Bumrah not at his best
Bumrah was taken for 12 in the final over by Wanindu Hasaranga (16 not out) who hit a hat-trick of fours to end the innings with a flourish as the fast bowler returned figures of 1-31 in his four overs. Shardul Thakur (3-23) was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts but it was Saini (2-18) who impressed the most while Kuldeep Yadav (2-38) also picked up two wickets. For the Lankans, Kusal Perera top-scored with a 28-ball 34 (6x3).

Brief scores
Sri Lanka 142-9 in 20 overs (K Perera 34, A Fernando 22; S Thakur 3-23, N Saini 2-18, K Yadav 2-38) lost to India 144-3 in 17.3 overs (KL Rahul 45, S Iyer 34, S Dhawan 32, V Kohli 30'; W de Silva 2-30) by seven wickets

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever