As odds of sportsbooks on Bookmaker-Expert.com vastly predicted, India thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in a three-match T20I series at home on February 28, claiming its third consecutive clean-sweep victory following the T20 World Cup 2021. With the win in Dharamsala, the ‘Men in Blue’ and their skipper Rohit Sharma have both equaled massive format’s world records.
India’s Winning Streak and Rohit’s Record as a Captain
India hasn’t lost a T20I match since November 2021. The run began during the T20 World Cup in the UAE, when they defeated Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia in the final three games on the group stage. The ‘Men in Blue’ then went on to score a clean-sweep victory against New Zealand in November, the West Indies in February, and Sri Lanka in March, giving them a 12-match winning streak in the format, equaling the world record previously held by Afghanistan and Romania.
Moreover, Rohit tied for the most straight T20I triumphs as a skipper. Between 2018 and 2020, former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan guided his country to a record 12 consecutive T20I victories. Rohit’s winning streak commenced in 2019 when he steered India to two successes against Bangladesh at home and continued in 2020 when he guided the squad to a victory against New Zealand. Following that, he led India to three clean-sweep victories after being selected full-time T20I captain in November, following the T20 World Cup. The long-time Mumbai Indians member also tied for the most whitewash triumphs as captain in a three-match or longer twofold T20I series, matching former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s tally of five such victories. Both of Rohit’s previous clean-sweep successes came at home, against Sri Lanka in 2017 and the West Indies in 2018.
In total, Rohit has guided India to 24 victories in 28 Twenty20 Internationals, with 17 of those victories coming at home in 18 games.
Game 3’s Scenario
The scenario was unchanged from the previous game in Dharamsala. Shreyas Iyer produced his third half-century of the series, guiding India to a six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka and a hat-trick of clean sweeps in white-ball cricket.
The hosts were missing a batsman, and Rohit was dismissed in the second over of the innings. Shreyas was once again tasked with leading the chase. He rose to the occasion with a 45-ball undefeated 73 that included nine hits to the boundary and one over the fence to help the team reach the target of 147 with 19 balls to spare. Ravindra Jadeja backed him up with an unbeaten 22 off 15 balls. Shreyas made his presence known with a stunning cover drive off Binura Fernando, then welcomed Lahiru Kumara with three immaculate boundaries to get the game started. He sent leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay over the midwicket boundary, as he had done the previous time, to raise his fifty in style.
After attempting to heave a length ball but slicing it to Chamika Karunaratne, Rohit fell for the sixth time to his rival Dushmantha Chameera. Sanju Samson, his opening partner, failed to build on a good start and was dismissed for a 12-ball 18. During his quick 27-ball 22, Deepak Hooda seemed in excellent form, while Venkatesh Iyer struggled with the bat.
Previously, Sri Lanka’s undefeated run with the willow continued as an inexperienced Indian bowling attack reduced the visitors to a below-par 146 for 5, mostly thanks to skipper Dasun Shanaka’s unbeaten 74 off 38 balls. After India’s new ball duo of Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan had the opposition on the mat straight away by eliminating the top three for only 11 runs on the board, Shanaka’s late burst helped the side gather 68 runs in the last five overs.
Putting on an 86-run sixth-wicket stand with Karunaratne, the captain shifted the game’s tone by launching an all-out drive in the remaining four overs to reach his highest T201 score and restore some credibility to the team (12 not out). Earlier, Siraj and Khan gave the visitors a nightmare start, reducing them to 18 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. Siraj dismissed Danushka Gunathilaka for a duck on a ground that offered some bounce for the pacers, after cramping the southpaw with a short ball that the batter dragged back onto his own stumps. Khan then got his first T201 wicket in the form of Pathum Nissanka, the second opener.
