The ‘Podi Sana’ as they calls him Akka Kusal Perera literally blew India away by scoring a brilliant 66 off 37 balls to take Sri Lanka to a five-wicket win in the opening match of the Nidahas Trophy tri-series on Tuesday.
After the Indian batsmen put up a decent target of 175, their bowlers failed to make a mark as the hosts hammered the bowlers all around the park. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2/37) and Washington Sundar (2/28) provided the crucial breakthroughs to control the run-flow but they couldn’t stop the hosts from registering a famous win against the Rohit Sharma led-team.
It was Sri Lanka’s first T20 win after 7 matches against India, and fellow and ex players praised Kusal and their team for a magnificent show.
“Good Start @OfficialSLC Positive cricket change the Team now…..Well played KJP for his entertaining knock… thanx to @CHathurusinghe and @TilanSam changing their mind set… #INDvSL” wrote Dimuth Karunaratne.
“Kusal’s Gameplay & the players kit took me to 1996 @Sanath Jayasuriya’s era😍🇱🇰🔥 #SLvIND #NidahasTrophy2018” wrote Sri Lanka newest Test Sensation Roshen Silva.
“What a win !! Boys were brilliant. @KusalJPerera @PereraThisara @DuSh_Chameera were outstanding. Way to go. Lions 👏👏👏” wrote Angelo Mathews.
“Good win boys! Well played. Very good team effort. Keep going👊” wrote Mahela Jayawardene.
