India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I at Cuttack, , Dec 20 2017 - Ball by Ball Commentary

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Yuzvendra Chahal is Man of the Match. "When we started bowling, I was confused. But you need a little luck, I got Tharanga out down leg and it started working form there. I was mixing up the googly and the legspinner, and varying my pace to the left-handers. You need to have variations. We've practiced with wet balls, and the wicket was turning, so we just bowled accordingly. I enjoy Kuldeep's bowling and he enjoys mine. But we had a good total on the board and we can flight the ball and attack the batsmen"

"I said at the toss, it won't make much of difference because right from ball one there was dew. We expected it to be there for the whole 40 overs. Nothing changed. It wasn't easier to bat later on. It wasn't difficult to bat initially," Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain says. "It was a great move, for KL to start with at the top, was not part of the ODI squad,

but he came here and showed he belonged. Batted magnificently. And great finish to our innings by MS and Pandey. Pandey hasn't had much game time in the middle, so to come out and bat like that is good. And MSD, he's just class. No. 4 really paid off. He's played so many games for us, won so many games for us and moving forward, we feel making him bat at No. 4 is ideal. That allows Manish and Dinesh to finish games off. For a long period of time, MS has been finishing games off, but we want him to bat freely now, without that pressure. We were not sure what the ideal score would be, with dew and the wicket playing weirdly. So I thought 180 was a great effort. Chahal and Kuldeep have always been our wicket-taking options in the middle. They understand what the team expects and they come out and deliver. No words can describe how good they have been for us. The fast bowlers as well, Jaydev playing his first game after a long time, taking an early wicket. Bumrah and Pandya keeping things tight. Conditions weren't easy and they did very very well"

Samaresh: "Rohit Sharma only forgot to mention Shreyas Iyer's name in the presentation !"

"In these conditions, we wanted to bowl first, but India batted really well. And we have to give their bowlers credit, two spinners bowling really well in dewy conditions," Thisara Perera, the Sri Lanka captain says. "We could have had a shot at 160-170 here. But I think, 180, in these conditions, we could have chased if we had got a good start. But our batting line-up didn't click. Really disappointed. We are working hard at practice, to handle the wristspinners. These are the best 15 we have so we have to stand up and do the job next match"

10.15 pm Sri Lanka's innings included only four fours and two sixes, when the asking rate was nine runs an over. This after they had won the toss and had set themselves to chase in the dew. But India's wristspinners Yuzvendra Chahal (4 for 23) and Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 18) belied those conditions. It was a spellbinding display from two bowlers. Their control of line and length, their skill to deceive batsmen with the wrong 'un, their temperament when they are placed under attack are all outstanding.

But Sri Lanka... They were 46 for 2 in the eighth over. And then 87 all out in the 16th. There was no fight. As a measure of that, they scored the fewest boundaries in a T20I where they have faced 10 overs or more.

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"Spent two games padded up waiting to bat without going in. So I was waiting to bat," says Manish Pandey. "Every game I play, I have to get runs, I have to contribute however I can and it felt good today to do so. The last innings I played against Sri Lanka was a good one, so I just wanted to have a steady base at the crease, watch the ball and hit. That's all. Dhoni was telling me to move across a little bit so I have more chances to hit those wide yorkers they were bowling. Good to start well, and if you're playing well, we need to continue with the same form."

Purvesh: "With this early finish, India ensure that the captain isn't penalized for slow over rate. Woeful performance by SL, need a far better performance in the next 2 games."

Kushansri: "With that twin 4s scored by chameera, sri lanka just passed their lowest ever t20 score.. incidently scored it against the same opposition. "

Chaitu Reddy: "OMG! Only two 4s & two 6s in Lanka's Innings. Are these the least boundaries scored in a T20I???" --- I can't imagine an innings that has fared worse off.

Pankaj: "Boundries seemed to have dried up. When was the last one?" --- In the fifth over...

Darshan Shah: "India has spin twin(Chahal and Yadav) and Yorker twin(Bumrah and Bhuvi). Now they need to find all-rounder at no. 6. So he can pair with Hardik Pandya at 7. Any suggestion?"

Two slips in

Dhaval: "The wickets may well show up in bowlers column, but most of them have MS Dhoni written on them if you see through. Can't imagine this team without him. "

Slip, gully and leg slip now. Kuldeep seems to want one of those fielders at a different spot but Dhoni overrules it. "Haan, theek hain! Abhi Daalna. Abey , Abhi daalna!"