India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Shreyas Iyer cracks third successive fifty to help India complete another whitewash | Cricket News – Times of India

The script remained the same as in the previous game at Dharamsala. Shreyas Iyer came up with a third straight half-century in the series to help India brush aside Sri Lanka by six wickets and register a hat-trick of clean sweeps in white-ball cricket. With the win, India extended their unbeaten streak in T20Is to 12 matches.
AS IT HAPPENED | SCORECARD
The home side went into Sunday’s affair with a batsman short, and lost skipper Rohit Sharma in the second over of the innings. The onus once again fell on Shreyas to anchor the chase. Iyer accepted the challenge wholeheartedly, slamming a 45-ball unbeaten 73, laced with nine hits to the fence and once over it, to help the team race to the target 0f 147 with 19 balls to spare. Ravindra Jadeja gave him good support with a 15-ball undefeated 22.
Iyer announced his arrival with an exquisite cover drive off Binura Fernando, before welcoming Lahiru Kumara with three classy boundaries to get things going. Like the previous outing, he launched leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay over the midwicket boundary to raise his fifty in grand style.

Rohit (5) fell for the sixth time to his nemesis Dushmantha Chameera after trying to heave a length ball but ended up slicing it to Chamika Karunaratne. His opening partner Sanju Samson failed to capitalize on a promising start and fell for a 12-ball 18. Deepak Hooda looked in fine touch during his brief 27-ball 22, but Venkatesh Iyer (5) had an off day with the bat.
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s torrid run with the willow continued as a relatively inexperienced Indian bowling attack restricted the visitors to a below-par 146 for 5, built mostly around skipper Dasun Shanaka’s 38-ball unbeaten 74. Shanaka’s late flourish helped the side accumulate 68 runs in the last five, after India’s new ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan had the opposition on the mat straightway by removing the top three for just 11 runs on the board.

The skipper changed the complexion of the game in the final four overs by launching an all-out attack to get to his highest T20I score, and take the side to some sort of respectability with a 86-run sixth wicket stand with Karunaratne (12 not out).
Earlier, Siraj and Avesh ensured a nightmarish start for the visitors, who crawled to 18 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. On a track that offered a bit of bounce for the pacers, Siraj removed Danushka Gunathilaka for a duck, after cramping the southpaw with a short ball, before the batter dragged it back onto his own stumps. Avesh then secured his maiden T20I wicket in the form of the other opener Pathum Nissanka.