Indore:Riding on brilliant batting performances, India chased down the target of 143 runs with ease, beating Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20I of the three match series at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, here on Tuesday.
With this win, the hosts have now sealed an unbeatable 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Chasing a modest target for victory, India got off to a blazing start as KL Rahul dominated with a flurry of boundaries without taking many chances.
India got past the 50-run mark in the power play overs itself. Rahul missed his half-century by just five runs, (45 off 32 ) as he got bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga in the 10th over.
The leg spinner struck again in his third over getting rid of Shikhar Dhawan who scored 32 off 29.
The run chase became a little tricky after the two wickets but Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli ensured that India win the match with 15 balls to spare.
Iyer departed for 34 whereas Kohli remained unbeaten on 30 (17 balls) and sealed the win with a six in the 18th over.
Earlier, Indian captain Kohli won the toss and elected to field first. Indian bowlers produced a clinical performance to restrict Sri Lanka a modest total of 142/9 in in 20 overs.
Shardul Thakur 3/23 , Navdeep Saini 2/18 , Kuldeep Yadav 2/38, Bumrah 1/32 , W Sundar 1/29 were the wicket takers for India.
For Sri Lanka, only Kusal Perera (34 off 28) and Avishka Fernando (22 off 16) showed some resistance and helped their team post a modest total in the second match against India.
Indian pacer Navdeep Saini was given the Man of the match award for his superb bowling figures of 2/18. The third and final match of the series will be played on Friday in Pune.(UNI)