Gautam Gambhir's time in charge of India got off to a winning start as the T20 world champions breezed to a 43-run victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
After losing their opener to Zimbabwe in their first game after the World Cup, India made no mistake in Kandy as they took a 1-0 lead in this three-game series, piling misery on their hosts.
India made a strong start through openers Yashavi Jaiswal (40) and Shubman Gill (34) before Suryakumar Yadav's 58 carried them to 150 before he was dismissed.
Rishabh Pant fell just short of a half-century as he helped India's charge, though that soon stalled thanks to Matheesha Pathirana, whose impressive performance saw him finish with 4-40.
With India stopped at 213-7, Sri Lanka made a steady start, with Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis combining for 84 before the latter was caught for 45.
Two quick wickets from Axar Patel in the 15th over soon ended any hopes of Sri Lanka coming out on top, though, as Nissanka (79) and Kusal Perera (20) were both taken.
The hosts soon collapsed, losing their last seven wickets in just over four overs as they were bowled out for 170.
Data Debrief: India go from strength to strength
Gambhir could not have asked for a better performance at the start of his tenure with India, with their late performance in the field proving vital.
Just when Sri Lanka looked to be mounting a real attack to chase down the target of 214, they lost nine wickets from their final 5.2 overs to be bowled out well short of their target, with Patal and Arshdeep Singh both getting two wickets each.
The hosts' first game since their disappointing World Cup campaign did not quite go to plan, and they will be looking to bounce back on Sunday.
