Chasing 276, India were reduced to 193 for 7 in the 36th over, with not much batting left. India’s plan was only to bat till the end, and victory was not even the motive.
An unbeaten 84-run stand between Deepak Chahar (69 not out off 82b; 7x4, 1x6) and Bhuneshwar Kumar (19 off 28b; 2x4) helped India to steal a narrow three-wicket win over Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo to win the series.
India’s stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan lauded the performance of the duo and called it ‘tremendous.’
“It was tremendous to see Chahar and Bhuvi,” said the skipper during the post-match presentation.
“We knew that Chahar worked hard in the nets on his batting. His presence of mind and calculations against the leg-spinner was amazing. In the last four overs, they didn't take on the legspinner because at the time he was lethal,” added Dhawan.
Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 275 for 9 in 50 overs. Charith Aslanka (65 off 68b; 3x4) and opener Avishka Fernando (50 off 71b; 4x4, 1x6) scored the crucial half-centuries for the hosts.
Dhawan said that his team was confident of chasing down the stiff total but they didn’t start well.
“I felt that today the wicket was much better than the last match and that we restricted them on a good score. It was really good the way bowlers adjusted their lines and lengths.
"We were confident of chasing it, but we didn't start well. It is a good learning lesson for youngsters that every day is not the same. They will understand how to handle these situations and how to bring in new strategies,” said Dhawan.
“Every game, whether we win or lose, it's a learning lesson. We are also going to get better,” he said.
Dhawan had a word of praise for Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya, too, as he said the trio showed character in the middle.
“The way Manish Pandey and Suryakumar were batting, we thought they would take us home. Hard luck to Pandey for the way he got out. The way Krunal fought in the middle was amazing. Everyone showed character,” said Dhawan.
Dhawan hailed the opponents also for their fight back in the second innings. He said: “The way Sri Lanka planned their innings, batting and bowling - they brought the spinner on early - and the way they fielded was good to watch and learn.
“They worked really hard, but glad that we are on the winning side,” said Dhawan. Also Read | India vs Sri Lanka: Tremendous knocks under pressure - Virat Kohli praises Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar Yadav
Published By: Pratyush Raj Published On: Jul 21, 2021 07:35 IST --- ENDS ---
UP sounds high alert in border districts after deadly Nepal floods | Trump’s Marine One hit by radio glitch during close call with airliner | Instagram ad traps victim, cyber fraudsters buy phones worth Rs 25 lakh | Sister's heartbreaking final Rakhi for brother killed by electric shock in Telangana | Gym trainer accused in Delhi model's murder shot in legs during encounter | Pakistan threaten to boycott Lord's Test over interview with Imran Khan’s sons | Zambia opposition leader Brian Mundubile held after treason surrender | Nepal-Tibet flood traced to glacier-bedrock collapse, search for missing goes on | Mohan Bhagwat’s New York roundtable spotlights Indian youth and US-India ties | Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League Finals, Rumesh wins with 92.07m in Zurich | The Social Reckoning trailer 2: Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White fight big tech | Trump renames Lake Ontario as Lake America amid Canada tariff row | Abhishek Banerjee alleges political vendetta after action at TMC office | Anything they want, we'll have: Trump offers Nepal help as flood toll nears 400 | Climate change has made El Ninos 36% stronger, says study
Loading comments…