The young and talented India opener Prithvi Shaw got hit on his helmet during the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka. Soon after his neck protector was dislodged while ducking a short delivery from Sri Lanka speedster Dushmanta Chameera, he got a huge blow on his helmet. And, eventually got out in the following over.
Shaw, however, was in a sublime form, smashing 43 runs off 24 deliveries, an innings that has nine fours in it as well. But he admitted that the blow caused him to lose his focus and perished while trying a slog off Dhananjaya de Silva and was not satisfied with his shot
“I was disappointed with the shot when I got out. I lost a bit of focus after I was hit on the head,” Prithvi Shaw said during the post-match presentation after collecting his player-of-the-match award. “It’s fine now, a bit of pain but it’s okay.”
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However, when he was asked if the head coach Rahul Dravid has told him anything specific for his knock, he said that Dravid didn’t say anything and he trusted his instinct only to take on the opponent bowlers.
“Rahul sir didn’t say anything when I went in. I went with my instinct and was looking for boundaries. As a batsman, I try to keep the scoreboard ticking. The pitch was good in the first innings and it got better in the second innings. And I like facing fast bowlers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who elected to bat first, put up a below-par total of 262/9. However, India chased down the target within 37 overs following some swashbuckling knocks from the players and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series as well.
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On the other hand, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka applauded Indian bowlers for keeping them under pressure with their variations. “We started well but Indian bowlers varied the pace well. Our batsmen couldn’t get the rhythm going. The way Indian players played, they’re very aggressive. We all know how good they are but our bowlers need to improve. We need to execute our plans well,” Shanaka shared.
