India’s stand-in skipper, Shikhar Dhawan revealed that he had teh best seat at teh house at the non-striker’s end when the Indian youngsters were toying with the Sri Lankan bowlers in the first ODI, saying they “finished the game” in the first 15 overs only. India mauled the hosts by seven wickets with more than 13 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Talking about the same during the post-match presentation, Shikhar Dhawan said, “Absolutely, all our boys, most of them have played earlier and they are very matured and aggressive as well. The way they played the game today was tremendous. And I was very happy with their efforts.”
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Opting to bat, Sri Lanka only managed to reach a total of 262, as Deepak Chahar (2/37), and spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/48) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/52) scalped a couple of wickets each. India chased down the total in just 36.4 overs owing to Dhawan’s unbeaten 86, debutant Ishan Kishan’s blistering 59, and opener Prithvi Shaw’s equally aggressive 43.
Talking about the same, Shikhar Dhawan said, “When we batted, I guess it was lovely to stand on the other end and see Prithvi going for the first seven overs and then Ishan coming in and playing his first ball of ODI cricket and I was telling him to take it easy. The way Prithvi, as well as Ishan, batted today, was tremendous and they finished the game in the first 15 overs only. We were just knocking around (then).”
Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka blamed his batters for the loss, saying they couldn’t get the rhythm going. He also praises the aggressive approach of the Indian team.
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Dasun Shanaka said, “Yes, actually, earlier on we started really well but it was hanging a bit, they (Indian bowlers) varied the pace really well. So, I think our batsmen couldn’t get the rhythm going on. The way Indian players played, they are really aggressive and the kind of cricket they are playing is really good at the moment. We all know how good they are but our bowlers need to lift our bowling phase.”
