Kolkata: Sri Lanka’s latest meltdown, while in line with their unabated slide in white-ball cricket, shouldn’t take away the focus on how calmly India snatched a win from the jaws of defeat on Tuesday. And this time, it really felt that way too, especially with Sri Lanka needing 28 off 28 balls and two set batters in the middle. What ensued was proper chaos, but a predictable Sri Lankan one at that given their middle-order implosions this series.

Causing this chaos were all spinners but also the most unusual suspects—Washington Sundar who wasn’t even getting a place in the Sunrisers Hyderabad eleven this season, Rinku Singh who had bowled only 60 deliveries in his T20 career before this, and Suryakumar Yadav who bowled his first-ever T20 delivery in 10 years to defend six runs in the last over. The most likely differentiating factor in this context, therefore, has to be the IPL experience that helped even non-regular bowlers steal a game in this way.

“It was fun,” Riyan Parag said after the match. “And that’s why actually we didn’t feel the nerves. We planned it in such a fun way, it was very spontaneous, Rinku bhai bowling the 19th over. I was pretty sure (Mohammad) Siraj bhai was going to bowl the last over but then Surya bhai just came on to bowl and got it to a Super Over. So I think everyone was pretty chill. We were having fun. That’s one of our mottos as well. We are being ruthless but we have fun and enjoy the game and that’s why we were able to pull this off today.”

At the core of this refreshing perspective was the belief that India had managed a par score despite the ease with which Sri Lanka mounted their chase. “I felt 140 was par score on that track and the way they batted,” said Yadav after the win. “When we were going in during our fielding sessions, I told them I had seen such kinds of games. I think if we put our heart in it for one, one-and-a-half hours, we can pull it off.” And India did exactly that despite not being on top for bulk of the second innings.

Teams tend to go back to the drawing board when core players either retire or are rested after a World Cup win. But so hardwired is the T20 game in this current crop of players within and outside the India squad that the white-ball transition might not weigh heavy on either Yadav or Gautam Gambhir. And while this Sri Lanka team is a shadow of their mighty past, the T20I leg of the tour has definitely given the visitors reasons to check a few boxes.

Even though Rinku and Samson didn’t keep the scorers busy, Shubman Gill’s contrasting batting (34 off 16 balls in the first match and 39 off 37 in the third) once again underlined the maturity with which he approaches every innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal was predictably instinctive, Parag and Washington proved to be valuable down the order, and Ravi Bishnoi may have done just enough to keep himself in the reckoning as a wrist spin option.

Also significant is the flexibility injected in the form of part-time bowling. Batters during Rohit Sharma’s captaincy rarely doubled their act but Rinku Singh being given the ball in the 19th over is a giveaway that India might be thinking about expanding their range. A more constructive example is the way Parag—who was turning the ball both ways—was given an extensive outing with the ball, behind only Bishnoi in this series. “I’ve been working on it,” Parag said. “It’s taken some time. I’ve tried it out in domestic games. I had a few net sessions prior to the tournament and it was coming out pretty well. I just expressed myself. Surya bhai said just go for it. I bowled it with a free hand and it turned out pretty well.”

The biggest takeaway however has to be the accountability shown by Yadav, stepping up to defend an equation batting sides win nine out of 10 times. To go along with that was the inventiveness in making the new and nervous Sri Lanka batters face rank part-time bowlers like Rinku and himself. It was a punt alright but a calculated and brave one too. “There were only 12 balls to go and Kusal Perera was batting,” said Washington. “Rinku got him out and Surya himself came on in the last over and almost won the game for us. We all know he has a big heart when he goes out there to bat, but he also has a big heart in leadership as well.”

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