Sri Lanka fail to complete record chase as India clinch thrilling Super Over win
In a gripping India-Sri Lanka T20I series finale played at Pallekele, the visitors pulled off a sensational win by defending a modest total and prevailing in the one-over elimination tiebreaker. Chasing 138, Sri Lanka were cruising at 108/1 before losing momentum dramatically to get bowled out for the same score. With scores level, the match went to a Super Over where Sri Lanka could only score 2 runs versus India’s target of 3.
After opting to bat, India lost wickets at regular intervals to be reduced to 30/4 inside the powerplay. However, half-centuries from Shubman Gill (58) and Washington Sundar (25) helped them reach a competitive total of 137/9. In response, Kusal Mendis’ 43-ball 57 along with useful contributions from Dhananjaya de Silva (31) and Danushka Gunathilaka (39) had put Sri Lanka in the driver’s seat.
However, the complexion changed completely in the last few overs as Sri Lanka collapsed, losing their last 7 wickets for a mere 22 runs. Pace duo of Khaleel Ahmed and Suryakumar Yadav accounted for crucial wickets during this phase playing a pivotal role in tilting the match in India’s favor. With 6 needed off the final over, captain Yadav (2/15) dismissed two batters to force a tie, taking the game to a one-over eliminator.
In the Super Over, Sri Lanka could only score 2 as Washington Sundar conceded just 3 runs and picked up a wicket to help India win their first-ever Super Over contest against the hosts. The series sweep reinforced India’s dominance in this format while leaving the hosts to introspect on another dramatic batting failure at crunch moments.
