Nidahas Trophy: Kusal Perera's fifty puts Sri Lanka on top in 175-run chase

Kusal Perera went ballistic against Indian bowlers as Sri Lanka chases 175 to win the first match of the T20 tri-series against India at Colombo on Tuesday.

The hosts suffered a severe damage after they lost Kusal Mendis in the second over to Washington Sundar. 

Perera, however, hit top gear and smashed Shardul Thakur for five fours and one six to help his team recover the loss.

The left-handed batsman went on to score 66 runs off 37 balls, before getting stumped off Washington Sundar.

India rode on Shikhar Dhawan's blistering 90 and Manish Pandey's calculated 37 to score 174/5 

Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and asked India to bat. The hosts struck early by dismissing the Indian captain Rohit Sharma for a duck in the very first over and then by removing Suresh Raina for just one run in the next over. 

However, Dhawan and Pandey batted cautiously and hit boundaries at regular intervals as they kept the scoreboard ticking. 

The Indian pair was looking dangerous but Jeevan Mendis broke the 95-run partnership to stem the flow of runs. 

Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant provided the final flourish with a 21-run partnership.