Right, then. That brings us to the end of our coverage today. Hope you enjoyed it. Join us once again on Sunday for what promises to be a thrilling finale in Vizag. Cheers!
MS Dhoni: Almost 200 runs were scored, but there was something for everyone. Experimenting is a word banned from Indian cricket, but yes we're trying different things. Our top order has done well, so we're trying to give everyone an opportunity whenever possible. Most of our fielders are above average. Sometimes in T20s, even the slower ones can get away. But yes, fielding is very important. Being a bit unorthodox behind the stumps really helps, but credit to the bowlers for beating the batsman.
Shikhar Dhawan is the Man of the Match for his 25-ball 51. "Happy to have got my first T20I fifty. I was hitting the ball well. I like to play my natural game, I got a lot of support from the captain and the coaching staff. We didn't have any specific plan to hit 70 in the first six. Once I started connecting the ball well, it all came together."
Dinesh Chandimal: Credit to the Indian batsmen. We tried hard as a bowling unit, but eventually gave away 25 extra runs. We need to regroup. On this kind of track, we needed to mix our yorkers and slower deliveries well. Hopefully our bowlers will learn quickly. We'll put our heart and soul into the next game.
The surface wasn't anywhere near the kind we saw in Pune. It looked like the cracks would dictate terms to make this into a low-scoring contest, but we were all proved wrong. The sheen on the surface aided proper bounce, and once India posted close to 200, they were halfway there. Sri Lanka perhaps could have done something out of the box, but their efforts proved futile in the end. Not all is lost through, they can still go on to win the series in Vizag on Sunday.
Ashish Nehra: Everyone knows in the first six overs, the batsmen will come hard at you especially in a big chase. I may go for a few extra runs, but the idea is to pick wickets. I was waiting for this opportunity for the last few seasons. Till the body holds up, I'm ready to play. Bowling 140 plus hasn't been a problem for me, really. I've been around for a long time, I've seen plenty of good fielders. But to see them all in one group is great fun.
Kashyap: "A high utility game for India. MSD was able to audition several of his bowling options in a few key scenarios (e.g. Ashwin opening, Bumrah at the death)."
The series has been squared. This is India's third biggest win in T20Is in terms of run-margin. MS Dhoni resisted the temptation to experiment, and the move has helped them discover the batting prowess of Hardik Pandya among other things. Sri Lanka were never really in the hunt and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Ashish Nehra and Ashwin did the damage upfront, but the highlight of India's effort on the field was Dhoni's lightning quick stumpings and Bumrah's bowling at the death. Not to forget Pandya's work in the field.