Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for taking India through in difficult times and he did it once again.
After early fallouts, the duo of MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey took India to a satisfactory total of 180 at loss of three wickets in the opening T20I of the three-match series here at the Barabati Stadium.
Stand-in-skipper and opener Rohit Sharma could not accumulate runs for the side and departed for just 17. It was KL Rahul, who then gave India a good start and contributed significant 61, the highest score from the Indian side.
After departure of Rahul, it appeared that India would not be able to cross the 150-mark, but Dhoni and Pandey’s fireworks brought 61 runs in the last four overs to give the hosts a good total.
Dhoni scored unbeaten 39, while Pandey contributed 32 at the crucial time.
Earlier, Sri Lanka have won the toss and asked India to bat first.
Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera and Nuwan Pradeep claimed one wicket apiece for the side.
