India's captain Hardik Pandya attributed his team's 16-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here, to subpar performances in both the bowling and batting powerplays.
The Indians gave up 55 runs without scoring during the power play after Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first. Kushal Mendis was having a good time. They managed to get things under control in the middle overs, but Sri Lanka slammed 77 runs in the final five overs to reach 206/6 in 20 overs, with captain Dasun Shanaka blazing to a spectacular 50 off just 20 balls.
In reply, the Indians made a hash of the power-play as they lost four wickets in the first five overs. Though Suryakumar Yadav (51) and Axar Patel (65) raised their hopes, in the end, the hosts fell short by 16 runs.
"In bowling and batting, the powerplay hurt us. We made some basic errors, which we shouldn't be making at this level. Everyone knows what it is, The learning for us is we should be focussing on what we can control," Pandya said after the match.
The skipper consoled pacer Arshdeep, who bowled five no-balls and conceded 37 runs in two overs.
"You can have a good day, you can have a bad day, but you shouldn't be moving away from the basics. For Arshdeep, in this situation, it is very difficult. It is not about blaming him or being too hard on him, but we know no-balls in any format are a crime," he said.
The third and decisive T20I of the three-match series will be played in Rajkot on Saturday.