On Tuesday in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, India defeated Sri Lanka by two runs in the opening Twenty20 encounter of the three-match series. The hosts were held to 162/5 in 20 overs after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first. Before all-rounders, Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel put together a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket to secure a competitive total, the Men in Blue were struggling at 94/5. With captain Dasun Shanaka’s outstanding 45 off 27 balls, the visitors batted admirably in response to moving near to the score, but they were bowled out for 160 in 20 overs.
For India, the pivotal 68-run partnership between Hooda and Axar changed the course of the game. The pair surpassed MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan’s achievement (against England in June 2009) as the greatest sixth-wicket stand for Team India in T20 Internationals thanks to their outstanding partnership. Just behind Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya’s 70-run partnership against England at Narendra Modi Stadium in March 2021, Hooda-Axar currently holds the second slot on the list.
Best Player of the Game Axar added an unbeaten 31 off 20 balls, hitting one six and three fours, while Hooda continued to remain unbeaten with 41 off 23 balls, which included four huge sixes and one four. Along with the two, Team India also received strong performances from Ishan Kishan and captain Hardik Pandya. Pandya smashed 29 off 27 balls, compared to Ishan’s 37 off 29 balls.
Fast bowler Shivam Mavi, a rookie, had a dream debut for the Men in Blue, taking four wickets in his first match. In the game, Umran Malik and Harshal Patel both claimed two wickets. With two wickets still in the game, Sri Lanka needed 13 runs in the final over to win. Axar of India maintained composure as he secured a thrilling victory for the hosts with only 10 runs conceded. On January 5, India and Sri Lanka will play their second Twenty20 International.
