IND VS SL - 3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of India, 2023

The trophy is handed over to Hardik who gives it to the younger teammates and they're all merrily posing away for the photographs. A young team led by a young captain and India will be happy with the way things panned out. As Hardik himself admitted, there are areas to work on for sure but it's a decent start for this new-look Indian side. Sri Lanka fought hard and needn't be too disappointed with the result, although they'll wish that they had competed well today. Right then, that's a wrap to our coverage of the game. Until next time, this is Hari Sadanandan signing off on behalf of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Abhinand Raghavendran and Mukesh. Cheers!

Hardik Pandya | India captain: I think he (SKY) has been surprising everyone every innings that he is batting. He is just telling us that batting is so easy. If I were bowling to him, I'd be disheartened on seeing his batting. Special mention to Rahul Tripathi - the ball was doing something but he showed great intent. Then SKY did his thing. You don't need to tell him anything, he knows what to do. If there is any situation where he is unsure, we have our chats but more often than not, he knows what to do. I'm really proud of him (Axar), the way he is batting down the order and hitting. This will give a lot of confidence to him and the team as well. My motto in life as captain has been that I'll back my players. These are the best T20 cricketers in India and that's why they are here. There is no space for doubting in this format and we're backing the players properly. The way we played in the series is pleasing, we didn't even play 50 percent of our game in the second game but we still fought well.

Axar Patel | Player of the Series: Feel happier when the team benefits from my batting (when compared to bowling). Didn't do anything different for this series, just that the captain gave me a lot of confidence in the dugout. He tells me to play freely and tells me that he is there to protect me. We do a lot of planning during team meetings but sometimes things do go wrong and I just focus on doing my plans properly.

Suryakumar Yadav | Player of the Match: It's really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for a game. If you do that in practice, it gets a little easier while playing the game. There is a lot of hard work involved but it's about doing quality practice sessions. You should know what your game is and prepare accordingly. Boundaries behind are like 50-60 meters, so I was targeting them. There are some shots that are pre-determined but you need to have other shots too so that if the bowler changes his plan, you can have an answer. He (Dravid) just lets me enjoy myself. He tells me to just enjoy and express myself.

Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka captain: Before coming here, I wasn't in form. From the start of this series, I got in good form. Happy with my own performance. The way the boys fought in this series, lots of positives. I had a finger injury, that's the reason I didn't bowl in this series but looking forward to bowling in the ODIs. Wishing the Indian team well, especially Surya who was too good. In the field, I want to keep calm and let the boys learn. When I come to bat, it's a different game.

Chahal: After the first match, I had a discussion with the coaches - on what pace and line to be bowling. (On Suryakumar Yadav) He's batting at a different level and I'm happy that I'm in the same team as him. Axar is a perfect package. It's tough to bowl to him as well as he's a clean hitter.

Most wins vs an opponent in T20Is
19 wins in 29 matches: Ind vs SL
19 in 29: Eng vs Pak (one win in Super Over)
18 in 29: Pak vs NZ
17 in 25: Ind vs WI

22:12 Local Time, 16:42 GMT, 22:12 IST: A complete no-contest in the run chase. It's not everyday that a team successfully chases down a 220-plus score and the pressure was too much for the young Lankan side to handle. Mendis started well with a flurry of strokes but once India adjusted their lines and lengths, the visitors simply fizzled away. All the bowlers had a good time out there, notably the spinners who did a fine job. There was a bit of grip for the slower deliveries, and that makes SKY's innings all the more incredible. To state the obvious, his innings just batted Sri Lanka out of the game at the halfway mark itself. The score was about 20-30 runs above par and India were clinical in their plans with the ball. Hardik will be happy with his team's attitude in this decider game, especially considering how the bowling was taken apart last game at Pune. For SL, there are a lot of positives from the series, because they did stretch India in two of the three games.

Arshdeep Singh to Madushanka, out Bowled!! The stumps are in a mess!! India seal the series with a crushing win! Arshdeep doesn't do anything fancy here, just the basics against the swinging tailender and attack the stumps with a fuller ball. Madushanka had backed away early for the slog and missed it completely. And that is the end of that. Madushanka b Arshdeep Singh 1(2)

Arshdeep Singh to Madushanka, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Arshdeep Singh to Rajitha, 1 run, slower ball on middle and leg, Rajitha heaves this away without timing down to long-on

Arshdeep Singh to Madushanka, 1 run, looks for the yorker, it's a low full toss that Madushanka bunts to the off-side

Dilshan Madushanka, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Arshdeep Singh to Shanaka, out Caught by Axar!! Shanaka perishes! The game was done a while ago, and this time, it's too big an ask even for the in-form SL skipper. Tries to go downtown but the straight boundaries here are quite long and he hasn't middled it perfectly either. Skies high over long-on where Axar takes the skier with ease. Just a wicket away are India now. Shanaka c Axar b Arshdeep Singh 23(17) [6s-2]

Arshdeep Singh to Shanaka, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Arshdeep Singh [2.0-0-18-1] is back into the attack

Umran Malik to Rajitha, no run, pacy hard length ball this time, Rajitha makes room to heave but misses

Umran Malik to Rajitha, FOUR, oh, shot! Rajitha is having fun out there. Fast and full once more, attacking the stumps and he makes room to drive this firmly through extra cover. Fumble by the fielder in the ring and it races away. Umran was looking for the yorker but just missed his length slightly

Umran Malik to Rajitha, FOUR, that's some shot from a no.10! A controlled straight drive from Rajitha, backed away early but what he did well was to watch the ball till the very end. Just a push-drive and uses all of Umran's pace

Kasun Rajitha, right handed bat, comes to the crease