2nd T20I: Shreyas, Jadeja lead India to 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka

Dharamsala:  Riding on explosive knocks from Shreyas Iyer (74 not out off 44), Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out off 18) and Sanju Samson (39 off 25), India thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20I, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, here on Saturday.
With this win, India also extended their winning run in T20I cricket to 11 matches, a streak that began at last year’s T20 World Cup.
Put in to bat first, a fighting knock from Pathum Nissanka (75 off 53) and an attacking cameo by Dasun Shanaka (47 not out off 19) propelled Sri Lanka to 183-5 in 20 overs. Apart from Nissanka and Shanaka, Danushka Gunathilaka also played a vital knock (38 off 29) for the visitors.
Chasing a challenging total, India were off to a poor start as Dushmantha Chameera dismissed Rohit Sharma in the very first over of the innings. Shreyas Iyer then joined the previous game’s half-centurion Ishan Kishan at the crease.
Sri Lanka rattled India with pace in the powerplay as Chameera and Lahiru Kumara were consistently hitting speeds of 140-plus. The duo targeted Ishan with short balls and the wicket-keeper batter struggled during his short innings before getting out for 16 from 15 balls, leaving India struggling at 44/2.
After losing both openers inside the powerplay, India were in a spot of bother but Shreyas Iyer played a counter-attacking knock. The stylish batter broke through India’s dry spell after Ishan’s wicket with a couple of straight sixes against the left-arm spin of Praveen Jayawickrama and looked like he was batting on a totally different pitch than what Sanju Samson seemed to be on.