In Dambulla, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama countered India's spinners to lead Sri Lanka to the Women's Asia Cup title. However, about 100 kilometers away in Pallakele later in the evening, it was India's spinners who dominated Sri Lanka in the second men's T20I. Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, and Riyan Parag returned combined figures of 12-0-86-5, triggering another Sri Lanka collapse and helping India clinch the three-T20I series with one game to spare.

Across the first two T20Is, Sri Lanka lost 16 wickets for 68 runs in the last six overs. The spinners found so much purchase that part-time spinner Riyan Parag bowled his full allotment of overs, and Axar Patel bowled the last over of the first innings, in which Sri Lanka managed only 161 for 9.

India's Dominance

Sri Lanka's best bet to defend that sub-par total would have been to unleash their three spinners on India. They had bolstered their spin attack by bringing in Ramesh Mendis for fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka. However, rain disrupted their plans. Though Maheesh Theekshana knocked over Sanju Samson for a duck in India's DLS-adjusted chase of 78 in eight overs, Wanindu Hasaranga conceded 16 runs in his first over. Suryakumar Yadav then lined up Theekshana for three successive fours, rushing India towards victory.

Matheesha Pathirana dismissed Suryakumar for 26 off 12 balls, and Yashasvi Jaiswal holed out for 30 off 15 balls in the next over. But Hardik Pandya produced a cameo, ensuring that India's new era kicked off with a series win.

Nissanka and Perera Lay Strong Base

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka started strongly, scoring 54 for 1 in the powerplay. With the ball not swinging for Mohammed Siraj or Arshdeep Singh, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis had the license to attack.

Mendis had lofted an on-pace delivery from Arshdeep for a four over mid-on, but when the left-arm seamer took pace off and bowled a cutter into the pitch, Mendis miscued it to the infielder. Nissanka and Kusal Perera, though, kept batting with high intent, consistently finding boundaries.

Whenever India's bowlers strayed onto his hips, Perera unleashed Sanath Jayasuriya-esque short-arm jabs. When he raced to a 31-ball half-century, Jayasuriya himself applauded warmly from the dugout. Perera reached the landmark with some help from Rinku Singh, who slipped at the edge of the square-leg boundary and ended up parrying the ball away for six.

India's Spinners Wreck the Base

Ravi Bishnoi then pinned Nissanka lbw for 32 off 24 balls with a fizzing wrong'un. India stuck to four specialist bowlers, including Axar, and backed Hardik and Parag to share the fifth-bowler duties. After impressing with 3 for 5 on Saturday, Parag extracted ripping turn and bounce. A graphic showed Parag generating 3.7 degrees of turn on average, compared to Axar's 3 degrees and Bishnoi's 1 degree.

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Though Parag went wicketless, he once again showed that he could do a job with the ball. He allowed Suryakumar to hold Hardik back until the 14th over. Bishnoi then returned at the death to bowl both Dasun Shanaka and Hasaranga for ducks. Hardik did his bit by having Perera holing out for 53 off 34 balls, with Rinku holding onto a sharp catch.

Rain and Suryakumar Mess with Sri Lanka's Spinners

After rain delayed the start of the match by 45 minutes, it returned three balls into India's chase, leaving them chasing a revised target of 78 in eight overs.

Sri Lanka had a sliver of hope when Theekshana took out Samson with a skidder and then beat Suryakumar's outside edge with a carrom ball. Hasaranga, however, struggled to grip the wet ball, and Jaiswal aced the match-up against the legspinner.

With the ball sliding onto the bat after the shower, Suryakumar played a variety of sweeps before he fell to Pathirana. Hardik finished the chase with nine balls to spare, leaving Hasaranga with figures of 2-0-34-1.

From 130 for 2, Sri Lanka subsided to 161 for 9. Game over for them.

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