India look to stamp their authority against Sri Lanka in Twenty20 as well

The world number two ranking clinched following a dominating 4-1 triumph in ODIs, India will now look to stamp their authority against Sri Lanka in the only Twenty20 international on Tuesday, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that India's domination was reflected in the margin of victory and they would look to carry their rampaging form to the shortest version of cricket as well.

Sri Lanka and India have played only four T20s since 2009, with both teams winning two each and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will look to gain an upper hand on Tuesday. The match also holds prominence considering the fact that the T20 World Cup is round the corners and it would be hosted by Sri Lanka from September 18.

According to a column by Sourav Ganguly in in Hindustan Times, India completed a resounding series victory and maintained total domination over Sri Lanka. “The batting might of the Indians was in full bloom in favourable sub-continent conditions and the Lankans had no answer to it. Sri Lanka will have to sort out their bowling quickly as it has been average except for Lasith Malinga. The one bright spot though has been Nuwan Pradeep. He has the pace and will need to be handled carefully. I feel happy for Manoj Tiwary. Whatever chances he has got, Manoj has shown that mentally he is qualified to be a part at the international level. I feel sad that he has got his chances in the national team as a replacement,” says the Ganguly, adding that he should, from now on, be considered as a regular in the national side, not only for ODIs, but all forms of the game.

“The biggest thing at this level is not only about the number of runs you score or the wickets you take. It's about mental adaptation to any situation, and Manoj has shown it,” writes Ganguly, adding that the find for India in this series have been Irfan Pathan and Ashok Dinda. “I have not seen Irfan bowl so well since his debut series in Australia and Pakistan. The rhythm is back, the ball is swinging and he seemed to be the Irfan of old days. His batting success at No 7 has also added strength to the side and he has become an important cog once again,” he adds.

Meanwhile Irfan Pathan, who was India's star with his fine all-round performance, said his good batting towards the end of Indian innings gave him the confidence to bowl well as he picked up five Sri Lanka wickets in his side's win, on Saturday. "God's grace. I was bowling well throughout the series. Had too many bad deliveries today but got five wickets. The batting gave me a lot of confidence, it came at the right time," Pathan said after being adjudged Man-of-the-match.

Pathan said the conditions too suited his style of bowling. "In Premadasa and here, the ball does swing with the humid conditions, and with the two new balls it does help swing the ball. It's a great feeling," he said.