IND vs SL: ‘Was a great opportunity to step up’

Player of the Match Washington Sundar says he wanted to thrive in the situation after skipper Suryakumar Yadav asked him to bowl Super Over; praises his leadership skills as India whitewash Sri Lanka in three-match T20I series

Not for the first time in the series, Sri Lanka bossed the first 15 overs of their innings, only to come seriously unstuck in the final five. Like in the first two Twenty20 Internationals, the hosts suffered the same fate, this time undone in the Super Over as India completed a 3-0 sweep at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night.

At 108 for one with the well set Kusals—Mendis and Perera—adding fifty for a second successive wicket, Sri Lanka were on course for a consolation victory with India’s 137 for nine well within their sights.

Aided by hesitancy from the opposition and their own immense self-belief, India surged back by taking seven for 22 in another of those stunning collapses that led to the match being tied in regulation time.

Rinku, Surya two good

Off-spinners Rinku Singh and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who both had never bowled in T20Is before, each took two wickets in the 19th and 20th overs respectively and Washington Sundar, who had sparkled with bat and ball in his first game of the series, expertly closed out the Super Over by going for just two. Suryakumar applied the finishing touches with a boundary off the first ball of the chase, leaving Sri Lanka shell-shocked and forcing a large gathering to turn on their heroes.

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‘I had no idea’

“Honestly, I had no idea I was going to bowl [the Super Over],” Washington, Player of the Match also for his handy 25 and 2-23 in normal play, revealed. “It was after the batsmen walked out that Surya told me I was on. I was very happy. When the captain wants you to bowl in tough situations, in a Super Over…I thought it was a great opportunity for me to step up and win games for my country.”

Washington was also all praise for Suryakumar’s left-field thinking when Sri Lanka needed just nine off the last two overs after an error-strewn Khaleel Ahmed conceded 12 in the 18th over.

Perera was flying on 46 when Rinku forced him to sky a catch that he himself completed, after which Ramesh Mendis, Kamindu Mendis and Maheesh Theekshana came and went in a flash. “It was amazing from Surya, his leadership skills,” Washington gushed. “He felt, given the situation, if he bowled more spinners, we’d have a good chance to win the game. Given the wicket and the situation, he took one or two options, and it did wonders for us.” 

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