Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Lucknow, Feb 24 : Ishan Kishan’s 89 off 56 balls powered India to 199/2 against Sri Lanka in the first T20 International match at the Ekana Stadium here on Thursday. Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma stitched a solid 111-run opening partnership after being put into bat. The wicketkeeper-batter looked in great form as he fired three back-to-back boundaries and soon reached his fifty off 30 balls. Rohit dispatched spinner Jeffrey Vandersay for a maximum into the stands at deep mid-wicket, becoming India’s leading run-getter in the shortest format. The skipper surpassed Virat Kohli, who has 3296 runs from 89 innings, in his 115th innings. KL Rahul is third on the elite list with 1831 runs from 52 innings.
Sri Lanka finally pulled one back when Lahiru Kumara knocked over Rohit with a slower ball and the Indian skipper returned to the dugout for 44. Kishan missed out on a well-deserved century as Dasun Shanaka removed him in 17th over. Towards the end, Shreyas Iyer’s 28-ball 57 not out further piled misery on Sri Lankan bowlers. Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera conceded 18 and 16 runs respectively in the final two overs. U
