Mohammed Siraj still had an over left, while Shivam Dube, who was part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad, was yet to roll his arms. Yet, for the 19th over, following Khaleel Ahmed's 12-ball over, where the left-arm pacer conceded 12 runs to reduce Sri Lanka's target to just nine runs in the third and final T20I match of the series in Pallekele, captain Suryakumar Yadav handed the ball to Rinku Singh, who was yet to bowl in international cricket.

Despite India having already won the series after claiming victory in the opening two games last week, it was a huge gamble that Suryakumar and head coach Gautam Gambhir took on Tuesday. But the off-spinner picked up two wickets for just three runs to leave Sri Lanka six down in the chase. Later, the captain himself rolled his arms, and picked up two more wickets on consecutive balls to defend six runs in the final over before claiming victory in the Super Over.

Following the win, Suryakumar revealed that reason behind taking the decision to bowl Rinku in the penultimate over. Speaking to Sony Sports, he reckoned that Rinku was better suited for the conditions with his right-arm off-spin variety, especially after ensuring that he bowled enough in the practice sessions through the course of the series.

“The decision for the 20th over was easy, the difficult part was for the 19th over. Siraj and few others had their overs left. But I felt Rinku was better suited for that wicket because I have seen him bowling and I made him practice a lot at the nets. I felt it was right and that is why I took that call,” he said.

When further asked by former India cricketer Ashish Nehra on why Suryakumar himself did not bowl the 19th over, the captain put match-ups as a reasoning behind his call, before admitting that he now has an extra bowler to look up to going forward in T20I cricket.

“I knew the 19th over has always been difficult for Indian cricket (laughs). That is why I gave the responsibility to Rinku. For a right-hander bowling to a left-hander, it is always difficult for the batter. It was great that he made the best use of his skill and made my work easy because now I have one more bowling option going forward,” he added.

India will next play a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting August 3 in Colombo.

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