Returning to the playing eleven after a spell on the sidelines with an injury, Team India pacer Arshdeep Singh did not have an ideal start to his spell in the second match of the ongoing three-game T20I series against Sri Lanka at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
Shanaka was the highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 56 off 22 balls while Asalanka and Mendis played gritty knocks of 37 and 52 respectively.
The Indian team made two changes to their playing eleven for the second T20I against Sri Lanka with pacer Arshdeep Singh replacing Harshal Patel and Rahul Tripathi for the injured Sanju Samson.
South Africa quick Marco Jansen, India pacer Arshdeep Singh, New Zealand batter Finn Allen, and Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran are the contenders to win the award.
The Protea player talked about the Indian bowling lineup and expressed that it has a great mix of youth with experience. He added that youngster Arshdeep could lead the Indian pace battery in the future.
India has notably tried many players in the decade of 2020s. A lot of players have been tried after delivering good performances in IPL. These players include Shahbaz Ahmed, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Deepak Hooda etc
He has also widened the rating points gap with the second-ranked batter Mohammad Rizwan. Currently, Suryakumar has 890 points while Rizwan has 836 points
Suryakumar Yadav bagged the 'Player of the Series' award scoring 124 runs in two innings which includes a century he scored in the 2nd T20I in Mount Maunganui to help India take the unbeaten 1-0 lead.