India took the lead in the three-match series with an exciting two-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first T20I. The first match was held at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After reaching 160 in 20 overs while chasing 163, Sri Lanka's innings was dismissed on the game's final ball.
Shivam Mavi, who made his India debut, had a brilliant outing with the ball. The pacer took four wickets and conceded just 22 runs in his four-over quota. Umran Malik and Harshal Patel scalped two wickets each.
Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda put up a 35-ball 68-run partnership earlier in the evening to lead India to 162/5 in 20 overs. Both the batsmen returned unbeaten, with Hooda scoring 41 off 23 balls, and Axar chipping in with 31 off 20 balls. India had got off to a blazing start but the hosts soon found themselves on backfoot after losing Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav in the powerplay. Sanju Samson also made a bad fall. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya formed a key middle partnership. Pandya was caught behind for 29, while Ishan was dismissed at 37.
During time presentation ceremony, Sri Lanka’s skipper Dasun Shanaka said “Really disappointed with the way we finished, it was a game we should have won. At Wankhede, the batters need to cross the line easily when you are chasing 163. We used the match-ups well to restrict India. This bunch of youngsters is a very good bunch of players, they will come back strongly.”