Mumbai,
India completed a 3-0 series sweep against Sri Lanka following their five-wicket victory in the final T20 International at the Wankhede Stadium here today. Chasing a modest 136 for win, the hosts lost opener Lokesh Rahul early but stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma made 27, Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 30, and Manish Pandey top-scored with 32 to set India on course for victory.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers did manage to inject some excitement towards the end, leaving India needing 15 runs from the last 12 balls. Dinesh Karthik, who remained not out on 18, then hit Nuwan Pradeep’s final delivery in the penultimate over for a six to tilt the balance in favour of the hosts. MS Dhoni, who made 16 not out, sealed India’s victory with four balls to spare when he sent Thisara Perera’s miscued yorker to the leg-side fence.

Earlier, India’s bowlers laid the foundation for the victory by restricting Sri Lanka to 135/7 after Sharma won the toss and opted to field. Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the Indian bowlers, claiming 2-15; Hardik Pandya also claimed two wickets.

Asela Gunaratne made 36 and Dasun Shanaka scored 29 not out down the order but Sri Lanka could not put enough runs on the board to give their bowlers a fighting chance against their hosts.

India, who beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in the three-Test series, prevailed 2-1 in the ODIs before dominating T20s as well.

We would have chased down any target: Rohit

Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma said they would have overhauled even a bigger target after clinching the series. “Throughout the series, we went in with six batters and one all-rounder. So whatever target was set up, we backed our batsmen to get it,” said Sharma. “I am happy with the team we had throughout the series. It was thoroughly a team effort. Everyone put in a lot of effort.”

“A lot of the guys were playing their first game, second game, but it never seemed that way. They were confident and it was our job to back them. They came and did what they were expected to do.”

Asked about the upcoming tour of South Africa, Sharma said, “We are looking forward to the tour. But I would like to reiterate that the home season had been good. It’s never easy, no matter what conditions you play in.