After facile victories on successive days, India’s new T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav was clear that positive intent and fearless approach will be the template of his team going forward in the shortest format. India clinched the T20I series against Sri Lanka with wins by 43 runs on Saturday and seven wickets on Sunday here and the skipper was bullish about his team’s philosophy. “We spoke about this before the start of the tournament – what brand of cricket we want to play. This is the template we want to go ahead with,” said Suryakumar, who has been phenomenal as usual with the willow on both the days.

The target on the day was revised to 78 in 8 overs due to a sharp spell of shower that ate up overs after Sri Lanka had another batting collapse, getting limited to 161 for 9 after reaching 130 for 2 in 15 overs.

“With the weather around, anything below 160 would have been nice. Rain helped us. The way the boys batted was wonderful,” he said.

With one inconsequential game left, Surya was asked if there is a possibility of some of the reserve bench boys getting a look-in.

“We’ll sit and decide (when asked if they’ll test their bench strength). Very happy for the boys. Showed a lot of character in tough situations.” Ravi Bishnoi, India’s resident googly specialist in the shortest format, was happy that the wrong ‘uns have been consistently working for him.

“The pitch was a little different from yesterday. It was turning a bit. Today, in the first innings it was helping the spinners. I stick to my plans.

“I just love bowling the wrong ‘uns. It’s a good responsibility to have (bowling in the death), as it means the captain and the management trust me.” Once again Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka was unhappy how the middle-order crumbled when it mattered most.

“I am really disappointed with the way we batted at the death. We must really improve. This pitch, when the ball gets older, it gets tough to bat. As professional cricketers, we have to do better.” “We were behind by 15-18 runs. Weather also played its part. It’s not easy to bowl eight overs with a wet outfield,” Asalanka said. PTI KHS UNG KHS 7/21/2024

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