Axar Patel's blistering 65 of 31 balls and Suryakumar Yadav's 51 of 36 balls went in vain as India lost to Sri Lanka by 16 runs in a high-scoring match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here 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.
For Sri Lanka, all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has moved up to fifth among all-rounders while Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne have moved up the list for batters and bowlers, respectively
Debutant Shivam Mavi's four-wicket haul and Axar Patel's thrilling spell in the last over guided India to a 2-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the three-match series here at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday
India will now head to Pune to play Sri Lanka in the second T20I. Hardik Pandya led side will look to take an unassailable lead as they are already leading 1-0.
The former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that because the tournament will be played in India, Hardik's backup does not have to be a seam-bowling all-rounder
India handed a debut to two youngsters in Shubhman Gill and Shivam Mavi. Captain Hardik Pandya presented the T20I cap to Mavi while vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav gave Gill his T20I cap before the toss.
Wicket-keeper and batter Pant has represented India in 33 Test matches scoring 2271 runs at an average of 43.67 with five Test tons to his name with his highest score being 159 not out. Pant has 119 catches and 14 stumpings to his name.
Shanka talked about the Indian team stepping into the T20I series without regular captain Rohit Sharma and said that it is always challenging to play against the hosts irrespective of key players missing from the lineup.