India crush Sri Lanka by 62 runs in 1st T20I
Lucknow, Feb 24: India comfortably beat Sri Lanka by 62 runs in the first T20 International here on Thursday.
Batting first, IPL's costliest buy Ishan Kishan plundered a career-best 56-ball-89 while Shreyas Iyer helped himself to an unbeaten 57 off 28 balls as India scored 199 for two and then restricted Sri Lanka to 137 for six.
Skipper Rohit Sharma also got 44 off 32 balls as Sri Lankan bowlers, without world's premier leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, were taken to cleaners by Indian batters.
Kishan had 10 fours and three sixes in his innings while Iyer hit five fours and two sixes.
In bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/9), Venkatesh Iyer (2/36) got their share of wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal (1/11 in 3 overs) also bowled well.
Brief Scores:
India: 199 for 2 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 89, Shreyas Iyer 57 not out; Dasun Shanaka 1/19).
Sri Lanka: 137 for 6 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 53 not out, Venkatesh Iyer 2/36, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/9).
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Two Naxalites gunned down in encounter with cops in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur
Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.
The exchange of fire broke out in a forest along the Indravati river in the morning when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said.
After guns fell silent, bodies of two Naxalites, clad in uniform, along with a Self-Loading Rifle, an Insas rifle and a 12-bore rifle were recovered from the spot, he said.
Search operation was still underway, he added.
With this action, at least 25 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.
Earlier, 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters on January 3 in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur.
Last year, 285 Maoists were killed in various encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.
