India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I: Super Over Could Have Been Avoided Due to Suryakumar Yadav's Blunder

The new leadership era under Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir began with a 3-0 T20I series sweep on Tuesday at Pallekele International Stadium, following a thrilling Super Over in the third and final match. As in the first two games, Sri Lanka faltered in the death overs, despite Khaleel Ahmed's 12-ball over in the 18th. The Sri Lankan batters struggled to score just nine runs in the final two overs bowled by part-timers Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav. However, a standout performance from Washington Sundar in the Super Over secured a clean sweep for India.

However, the Super Over might have been avoided if not for a blunder by Suryakumar Yadav. In the final over, while defending just six runs, the captain took two wickets with consecutive deliveries in the first three balls. However, Asitha Fernando thwarted his chance for a perfect hat-trick by surviving the fourth ball.

With five runs needed from the final two deliveries, Sri Lankan batter Chamindu Wickramasinghe played an outside-off delivery from his backfoot towards long-off and sprinted hard for two runs. Riyan Parag collected the ball effortlessly and threw it back to Suryakumar Yadav at the non-striker's end. Instead of removing the bails with Asitha Fernando well out of his crease, Suryakumar threw the ball to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.

Suryakumar was stunned by his own mistake and signaled to Samson, amidst the crowd’s cheers, that he had overlooked the run-out opportunity.

On the final ball, Wickramasinghe hit Suryakumar's fuller delivery towards long-on and again sprinted for two runs. Shubman Gill, positioned at the boundary, gathered the ball effortlessly and threw it back to Suryakumar at the non-striker's end. Despite a decent throw from Gill, Suryakumar couldn't handle it cleanly. As a result, Asitha Fernando made his ground, forcing the game into a Super Over.

In the tie-breaker, Washington Sundar took two wickets in just three balls, setting a target of only three runs for India. Suryakumar then sealed the match on the very first delivery against Theekshana by hitting a boundary to fine leg.