India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I at Rajkot, IND v SL, Jan 07 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary

10.42pm: All smiles as Hardik collects the winner's trophy from Niranjan Shah. Hardik then runs across and hands over the trophy to Shivam Mavi and Jitesh Sharma, who have assembled for the photograph with the rest of the team. Mukesh Kumar is there as well. Lovely to see. Mavi and Jitesh hold the trophy aloft. Another home series win for India, another box ticked. Sidharth Monga's report is up, while Hemant Brar's post-match stuff will be in soon. On that note, on behalf of Sidharth Monga and Thilak Rama, this is me Ashish Pant signing off, Ciao!

Srinivashvarma : "So good to see young boys enjoying like kids.....loved this team....keep it this way ..fearless agressive "

Here's Hardik Pandya, the winning captain: [On Surya] He has been surprising everyone and making everyone know that batting is very easy. If I am a bowler, I will be disheartened with the shot he plays. He has played blinders after blinders. Special mention to Rahul Tripathi as well, who played so well with the ball moving. Don't need to tell much to Sky, whenever he finds a situation when he is not sure, we try to find a solution. More often than not he has been doing it all on his own. Very proud of Axar. This series will give him a lot of confidence. It adds a lot of value to the team as well. My motto is to back my players. These are the best India cricketers in the T20 format, and there is not place in international cricket of doubting. The way we played, I was very happy. The way we competed, it was heartening to see. On our day, we will pull it back and keep winning.

Axar Patel is the Player of the Series: I enjoy my batting and feel happy when I perform with the bat. The captain gave me a lot of confidence and I think that is working my way. The planning is there, but I can't look to contain the batters. My mindset is to take wickets at all times.

Suryakumar Yadav is named Player of the Match : It is really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for the game. The more pressure you put, the better you can play. There is a lot of hard work involved. Some quality practice sessions are also involved. The boundaries behind were 59-60m, so I tried to clear them. There are a few shots that are pre-determined but you have to be ready for other strokes as well. Most of the time, I try to find the gap, and use the field to my advantage, Dravid lets me enjoy, and tells me to express myself.

Sri Lanka captain, Dasun Shanaka, first up: Before coming here, I was not in top form, but I am very happy with my own performance. The way boys played the tournament, there were a lot of positives. The players have improved a lot. Good to see them playing well. [Not bowling enough] Coming into the series, I had an injury, so I did not bowl enough. Hopefully, will bowl more in the ODIs. [Batting] I want to keep the boys relaxed on the field, but while batting it is a different game. He congratulates Suryakumar for his innings as well.

Presentation time.

Siva: "I know its not much and won't count for as is, but Tripathis innings should be the template for Indian cricket to follow"

Animesh Pai: "Once Jadeja gets fit, it's going to be tough for him to be back in the team. I think Axar has done enough to be ahead of him. "

Here's Chahal: I try to bowl according to the wicket. I tried to bowl on that length, and if the batter hits it, then good for him. What Surya does in nets, you see that in the match. We try and send the best bowlers to him in the nets. And I am happy to be on his team. [On Axar] Axar has always been good. He is a perfect package. It is tough to bowl to him. He hits it clean. We spoke about the positive points in the team meeting and focused on that.

10.12pm Sri Lanka fought hard all series, but Suryakumar Yadav's third T20I century proved too much for them in the end. A chase of 229 was always going to be very tough, and the bowlers stuck to their length to defy the batters. Arshdeep Singh came back well picking three wickets, while Hardik Pandya, Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal, all picked two wickets each. The wide counter was still too high for India's liking, but don't think Hardik would be complaining too much. A special word for Axar, who can't keep a foot wrong at the moment. None of the Sri Lanka batters fired with only Shanaka and Mendis making sort of a contribution.

Devesh : "Redemption for arshdeep"

BapuPatel: "So, Axar Patel for the Player of the Series? " Gets my vote.

Madushanka the last man in. Round the wicket is Arshdeep

Arshdeep back

Avinash: "Mighty impressed with Umran and the lengths that he is bowling off late. And the consistency with which he has bowled the yorkers (along with his pace) makes him a lethal bowler."

Kush: "Looks so Easy when the batters do their job well.. This Ind T20 lineup has more INTENT and should be persisted with. Maybe extended to ODIs as well.."

Rajitha comes in now. The end is nigh. Win Probability: SL 0.01% * IND 99.99%

Reminder: You can watch the 3rd India vs Sri Lanka T20I LIVE in the UK on ESPN Player. And if you are in the USA, head over to ESPN+, and you can follow the game LIVE in English or in Hindi.

Umran back

Vimal: "Forget Shanaka. Get rest of the team out." Plan seems to be working so far :D

Theekshana in

Pandya to bowl out

Saini: "Match entered into Shanaka zone."