(July 31), India wins the third T20I in Super Over to sweep the series against Sri Lanka thanks to bowling performances of Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh in the twentieth and nineteenth overs, respectively.
Suryakumar Yadav had never bowled in a Twenty20 international match before; his 12 balls in an ODI came against the Netherlands during the ODI World Cup last year. Rinku Singh didn’t either.
But together, they orchestrated a stunning comeback for Team India in the third Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka at Pallekele. In the final moments of the low-scoring thriller, two of India’s most effective six hitters rolled over to send the match to Super Over, which India won rather easily to complete a clean sweep of the three-match series.
With six wickets remaining and Khaleel Ahmed bowling an uncharacteristically bland over with four wides, Sri Lanka needed just nine runs off twelve balls to take the lead. There was still an over to go for Mohammed Siraj, the most seasoned Indian bowler in the park. However, Surya threw the ball to Rinku, who had previously bowled just 11 overs in 133 matches during his T20 career.
But the odds were in his favor. It was turning and gripping. Rinku, who frequently uses his off-spin in the nets in Sri Lanka, got off to a professional start, putting one past Kusal Perera’s reverse sweep. Even better was the next ball, which misled Perea into going for a big heave but instead top-edged a return catch to the bowler. Since he was the only batter from Sri Lanka who appeared comfortable on that challenging surface, Perera’s wicket was crucial to the outcome of the match.
Sri Lanka still had the advantage with nine out of ten balls remaining, but Riku was just getting going. Just three runs were scored off of his next three deliveries, and his final ball claimed another wicket. Attempting to go for the big, Ramesh Mendis found himself trapped in the deep mid-wicket fence. Riku returned with figures of 2/3 in his first over of international cricket, giving India a lifeline.
Naturally, Siraj headed towards the bowling crease, but Surya had other ideas. Surya decided to give it a try after the umpires told him that India’s slow over rate would force them to keep one fielder short in the boundary lines.
Similar to Rinku, the recently appointed captain of the India Twenty20 international team began with a dot ball, but his next two deliveries brought back-to-back wickets, raising eyebrows. With a single off the hat-trick ball, Asitha Fernando completed the equation with five runs off of two balls. From here, it appeared to be India’s turn.
Chamindu Wickramasinghe, making his debut, lashed a flatter delivery from Surya towards long off. The Sri Lankans ran after a few. Rinku hit Surya with a flat throw that was a little wide, but Asitha was well outside the frame. Wickramasinghe had already established his ground when Surya fathered the ball cleanly, but instead of whipping the bails off at his end, he threw it towards the keeper.
Similar events occurred in the previous ball, but Asitha was quicker and Shubman Gill’s throw at long-on was even farther away from the stumps. When he got home, the game was tied.
Following 40 cricket overs, each team scored 137 to win. However, at 110/1 in 15 overs, Sri Lanka was down and out.
After Washington Sundar gave away a wide to begin the Super Over, he dismissed Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka in the next three deliveries, giving India an easy target of three runs. Surya only needed a single ball to win the game.
