Kusal Perera has struck a belligerent 66 off 37 balls to set up a five-wicket victory for hosts Sri Lanka against India in the Twenty20 tri-series opener at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Chasing 175 in the first match of the tournament, which also features Bangladesh, Sri Lanka lost their way in the middle overs but ultimately reached their target with nine balls to spare.
India got off to a wobbly start after being sent in but recovered through a fine 90 from opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan to post a challenging 5-174.
Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis for 11 in the second over of their chase but Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka put the Indian bowlers to the sword during a 58-run second-wicket stand lasting just 21 balls.
India seamer Shardul Thakur conceded 27 runs in the third over of the innings with Perera smashing five fours and a six in that over to wrest momentum for his side.
The left-hander completed his half-century in 22 balls and hit six fours and four sixes in his knock before being out stumped to off-spinner Washington Sundar.
Sri Lanka also lost Upul Tharanga to legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal cheaply to suffer a minor hiccup before allrounder Thisara Perera hit 22 off 10 balls to take the side home.
Earlier, India's batting got off to a false start with the fall of stand-in captain Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina in the first two overs.
Leading the side in the absence of the rested regular captain Virat Kohli, Rohit fell without scoring and it was left to Dhawan and Manish Pandey to lift the side through a third-wicket stand of 95.
Gunathilaka dismissed the dangerous Dhawan, who hit six fours and the same number of sixes in his 49-ball knock, while Pandey made 37.
"This is a good start for the tournament. This is all about trust and confidence in each other," Sri Lanka skipper Chandimal said.
India captain Rohit said his batsmen could have scored quicker toward the end.
"The kind of start they got was amazing, a lot of credit goes to Sri Lanka team as well," he said.
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