Kishan, Iyer fire India to 199-2 in Sri Lanka T20
Kishan, Iyer fire India to 199-2 in Sri Lanka T20
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer smashed half-centuries to guide India to a challenging 199 for two against Sri Lanka in the opening Twenty20 international on Thursday.
The left-handed Kishan (89) put on an opening stand of 111 with skipper Rohit Sharma (44) after Sri Lanka invited the hosts to bat at the start of the three-match series in Lucknow.
Iyer added to the Indian total with his late cameo as he hit an unbeaten 57 off 28 deliveries to pummel the Sri Lanka attack.
Kishan, a wicketkeeper-batsman, came out attacking as he hit Chamika Karunaratne for three successive boundaries and went on to record his second T20 half-century in 30 balls.
Rohit surpassed former captain Virat Kohli (3,296) and New Zealand's Martin Guptill (3,299) to become the world's leading run-getter in T20 internationals.
He has amassed 3,307 runs in 123 matches.
Fast bowler Lahiru Kumara denied Rohit 50 with a delivery that sneaked under the bat and rattled the off stump.
Kishan, who survived a dropped catch on 43, kept up the attack and smashed Kumara for a six and two boundaries.
But the 23-year-old rising star missed out on a century after he got caught out at mid-wicket off skipper Dasun Shanaka.
Iyer took charge in his final assault as he hit five fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 44-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja.
L.Papageorgiou--AN-GR
