‘Bapu ne ijjat bacha liya’ - Twitter reacts as India win a thriller against Sri Lanka in 1st T20I

On 3 January 2023, team India began their cricketing action in the new year against Sri Lanka. It was the first game of the three-match T20I series at Wankhede, Mumbai. All senior players like Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli took a rest from this series. Hence, Hardik Pandya got the chance to lead the team.

Meanwhile, it was a young Indian squad for this series. Therefore, fans were hoping to see many youngsters in the final playing XI. Speaking of the match, Dasun Shanaka won the toss and asked the home side to bat first. Hardik Pandya also confirmed that they handed debut caps to Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi.

India defeated Sri Lanka by two runs in the first T20I

For India, debutant Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan came out to open. But, it was a forgettable debut for Gill with the bat. He scored only seven runs off five balls, including one four. Then, Suryakumar Yadav also failed as he scored seven runs off 10 balls, including one four. After that, Sanju Samson disappointed his fans by scoring only five runs off six balls. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan settled the ship lightly. The southpaw batter scored 37 runs off 29 balls while Pandya scored 29 runs off 27 balls. Then, Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel stitched a solid partnership of 68* runs. 

Finally, India scored 162 runs for five wickets in 20 overs. Hooda scored 41* runs while Axar Patel scored 31* runs. For the visitors, five different bowlers took one wicket each. In reply, Sri Lanka’s batters failed miserably since the start of the chase. In 11 overs, they managed only 68 runs for five wickets. Shivam Mavi took two wickets in his first two overs of the match. Finally, he finished his debut match after taking four wickets for 22 runs in four overs. But, both Shanaka and Karunaratne showed a great fight until the end. But they fell short by two runs as Sri Lanka managed only 160 runs in 20 overs. Thus, India took a 1-0 lead over the visitors in the series. 

Here is how fans have reacted to the victory of team India in the first T20I:

That's some smart captaincy, @hardikpandya7 👏 #INDvsSL

— Vidya S (@vidyasharada) January 3, 2023

Toh jeet ghoshit ki jaaye#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/I3NDvXTUOn

— Slogger (@KalKaKricketer) January 3, 2023

Match done. Congratulations India #BCCI #UmranMalik #shanaka#INDvsSL #T20Is #IndiavsSrilanka #HardikPandya #mavi #SanjuSamson

— Gajala from Washington DC (@KumarManchinti) January 3, 2023

Jeet gaye 😂😂😂😂#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/g1I6xiA2QZ

— rishu (@forever_rishu) January 3, 2023

Thriller!!!
Well done #AxarPatel#INDvsSL

— 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙠 (@Prateekncmishra) January 3, 2023

Lucky escape for Clown captain#Hardik Pandya #INDvsSL
🤡🤡🎂🎂

— Cricastic (@writter_vambu) January 3, 2023

Srilanka ke saamne itne mushkil se jeete aur humare bina T20 WC jeetne ki baate karte h#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/oiaf5i50NE

— Innocent Child (@bholaladkaa) January 3, 2023

This is called Gujarati @hardikpandya7 Confidence#INDvsSL@BCCI

— Shashi Jha (@ShashiJ10049667) January 3, 2023