2nd T20I: Sri Lanka beat India by 16 runs to level series
Pune, Jan 5: Sri Lanka defeated India by 16 runs in the second T20I to level the three-match series 1-1, here on Thursday.
Put into bat, skipper Dasun Shanaka (56 not out) and Kusal Mendis (53) scored sizzling fifties to power Sri Lanka to an imposing 206 for 6.
Chasing a 200-plus target, the hosts' top-order crumbled under pressure before Axar Patel (65) and Suryakumar Yadav (51) ignited Indian hopes with a 91-run partnership.
However, once the partnership was broken the hosts couldn't get over the line.
Earlier, openers Mendis (53) and Pathum Nissanka (33) shared a 80-run stand to give Sri Lanka a solid start.
The visitors then lost momentum as Indian bowlers, led by pace sensation Umran Malik (3/48), picked a flurry of wickets.
However, Shanaka (56 not out) and Charith Asalanka (37) managed to take their side over the 200-run mark.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 206 for 6 in 20 overs (Kusal Mendis 53, Dasun Shanaka 56 not out; Umran Malik (3/48).
India 190 for 8 in 20 overs (Axar Patel 65, Suryakumar Yadav 51; Kasun Rajitha 2/22).
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First direct US-Venezuela commercial flight in 7 years to land in Caracas
Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.
The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.
It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.
Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.
Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.
In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.
The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.
