Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir got the new era off to a perfect start. India beat Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I match of the series to complete a 3-0 clean sweep. It was India's first whitewash against the Islanders in a T20I series with at least three matches in Sri Lanka and third overall. Following the win in Pallekele on Tuesday in the third T20I, which came via Super Over, Rohit Sharma, who will next lead India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, shared a "perfect" Instagram post for the team.
India had already sealed the series heading into the final game, having won the first two matches last week. Hence, they made four changes to the playing XI. Put to bat first at the venue that experienced rainfall over the previous 24 hours, India were reduced to 30 for four inside the powerplay, which later became 48 for five. Shubman Gill and Riyan Parag then stitched a fifty-run stand, before Washington Sundar carved out a handy cameo to help India to a total of 137 - a competitive one on a spinning track.
In response, Sri Lanka openers got the chase off to a cautious start, before weaving a fifty-run stand, after which the two Kusals - Perera and Mendis - laid the perfect base for the hosts to pull off a consolation win. But like in the opening two games, the batter crumbled under pressure in the death overs and failed to score 9 runs off the final 12 balls against part-timers Rinku Singh and Suryakumar.
Although Sri Lanka pushed for a Super Over, Washington Sundar destroyed their hopes in just three deliveries, where he picked two wickets for two runs. The India captain wrapped up the chase in the opening ball as the visitors completed a whitewash over Sri Lanka.
{{/usCountry}}Although Sri Lanka pushed for a Super Over, Washington Sundar destroyed their hopes in just three deliveries, where he picked two wickets for two runs. The India captain wrapped up the chase in the opening ball as the visitors completed a whitewash over Sri Lanka.
{{/usCountry}}Following the win, Rohit took to Instagram to share a picture from the trophy-celebration moment and captioned it: “Perfect start. Well done Team India.”
Rohit Sharma back after prolonged break
Rohit already reached Colombo on Sunday in preparation for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will be played between August 3 and 7. It will be his first match since winning the T20 World Cup last month in Barbados, after which he announced his retirement from the international format, and will be his maiden appearance in ODIs since the heartbreaking loss against Australia in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad last year.
The ODI series will also mark the beginning of India's preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy next year.