Khaleel Ahmed conceded six wides in a chastening, 11-ball 18th over, but his blushes were spared as India surged to victory through two of their part-timers, Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav.
India were restricted to 137-9 by Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana taking three wickets to put the home side in the hunt for their first win of the tour. Early on in the chase, Sri Lanka looked on target. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis put on 58 in the first nine overs for the opening stand, before a big partnership between Mendis and Kusal Perera took them to 110-2 in the 16th over - just 18 runs from victory with 16 balls remaining.
However, Washington Sundar took two wickets in the 17th over to pull India back into the game, before Khaleel was thrown the ball. Having not bowled since the powerplay, Khaleel's figures at that point were 0-17 from two overs.
He started with a single into the leg side to Perera off his first ball, bringing Ramesh Mendis on strike. The next ball he bowled was a wild full delivery well outside of the off-stump tramlines, passing through to a diving Sanju Samson behind the stumps. Samson, however, fumbled the ball, allowing the batters to take a single as well as the extra run for the wide.
Bowling another slower ball next up, the ball deflected off Perera's pads down to short fine leg for another single. A second wide came next, Khaleel bowling another fuller delivery which moved away outside off and again wide of the tramlines. Off his radar, the next ball was another wide, again an outside off slower deliver, Khaleel having now bowled five balls in the over but still without completing the third legal delivery.
He got his radar back online to Mendis when he ran in the following time, Mendis tapping the ball to cover and hurrying through for a single. Another legal delivery followed, the first two consecutive legal deliveries of the over, which Perera hit through midwicket, a fumble in the field allowing the batters through for two.
However, Khaleel sent down another two wides after that, the first another misdirected cutter but this time through the legside, and then repeated again down the leg side. He managed to send down a dot ball for the fifth legal delivery and conceded a single through deep third man to get out of the over.
It cost India 12 crucial runs and brought the required run rate off the last two overs down from 7.00 to 4.50. The unlikely pair of Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav made up for it, however, each taking two wickets in the final two overs and taking the match to a super over. India sealed the win after Sundar took two wickets in Sri Lanka's over for just two runs, Surya hitting a four off the first ball to end the series at 3-0 to India.
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