Skipper Dasun Shanaka produced an all-around show, first crushing an unbeaten 56 on 22 and then defending 21 in the final to bring his team home in the do-or-die encounter.
With Dasun, wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis hit a 52 from 31 balls to propel Sri Lanka to an imposing 206 for 6.
India gave it their all but Sri Lanka equalized in the series with victory in a high score game in Pune 👏… https://t.co/97lvAwFFn6
— ICC (@ICC) 1672938834000
India had a nightmarish start to the hunt as they crashed to 57 for 5 before Axar and Surya raised hopes of an unlikely win with a scintillating stand at the sixth wicket.
It got tough once Surya started in 16th, but Axar and Shivam Mavi (26 of 15) shared 41 quick points to bring the equation down to 21 on the last.
But Axar’s third-ball dismissal in the final was the final nail in India’s coffin.
Chasing the aggregate, India lost fly-half Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill in the second to Kasun Rajitha.
If that wasn’t enough, rookie Rahul Tripathi snuck one in Kusal Mendis off Dilshan Madhushanaka at the next lesson before skipper Hardik Pandya left later as India crumbled to 34 for 4 for 4, 4 overs.
Surya and Deepak Hooda attempted to stabilize the innings with a hard-fought 23-run partnership, but with the ask rate rising, the latter went in search of a big shot, caught by Silva’s Dhananjaya off Hasarnaga from Silva as India lost half their side for 57.
Surya and Axar tried to up the ante with a sensational 91-point partnership from just 40 balls to keep India afloat after a forgettable start.
Axar was particularly harsh on Maheesh Theekshana, who beat the bowler for a four and six longer in the 13th.
It wasn’t just Theekshana, Hasaranga de Silva also had to bear the brunt of Axar’s aggression as the southpaw hit the bowler for a hat-trick six in the 14th.
Axar raised his first fifty on just 20 balls with a long Karunaratne six.
Surya followed suit, scoring another fine fifty with a square-leg six off Madhushanaka.
The duo raised hopes of a famous win but it won’t be as the visitors pulled the strings just in time to level the series.
Earlier it was a disastrous performance from the Indian bowlers after opting to play as the Lankan batters went hammer and pinch early on. With the exception of Axar (2/24 of his 4 overs), all the other Indian bowlers went for a run.
Even though speedster Umar Malik (3/48) picked up three wickets, he too was taken to the cleaners, while last game hero Mavi (0/53) looked just a pale shadow of himself .
Arshdeep Singh gave up 19 second-inning runs, including two consecutive no-balls that yielded 17 runs.
Hardik also made 11 runs from second place as Mendis edged one on the deep third man.
Mavi was also taken to the cleaners by Mendis on her opener, who gave up 15 points.
The Spin duo of Axar and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/30) gave a break for two overs before Pathum Nisanka (33) hit a four and then a mammoth six from the deep midwicket. India’s first breakthrough came in the ninth set when Chahal had Mendis LBW after Hardik passed an overhaul.
Sri Lanka suffered their second blow in the first delivery of the next one when Malik beat Bhanuka Rajapaksa on pace to clear his stumps.
Despite losing two wickets, Sri Lanka reached a healthy score of 89 at the halfway mark.
But Axar quickly tasted success when he dismissed Nissanka, caught by Tripathy. He grabbed his second kill of the day in his next when Dhananjaya de Silva was grabbed by Hooda for a long time.
Charith Asalanka (37) looked in a worrying mood as he dispatched Chahal to a deep midwicket on consecutive deliveries.
Aslanka then fired a short delivery from Malik for six more balls, but three balls later the pacer had the last laugh as he had the batter caught by Gill with a similar delivery in his next over.
Malik knocked down Wanindu Hasaranga’s antlers with a quick one-ball delivery later for the chance of a hat-trick.
But it was not to be Malik’s day as Sri Lankan skipper Shanaka muscled the pitcher over his head for one in four rebounds.
