IND vs SL 2017, 1st Test: Shikhar Dhawan Feels India Can Still Win the Match
Nov 19, 2017 at 5:51 PM
Sri Lanka took a 122-run lead in the first innings before being bowled out for 294, as Rangana Herath top-scored for the Lankan team with 67 runs.
At one stage Sri Lanka was 201 for seven, but Herath pitched in with a helpful knock and took the Sri Lankan team’s total to 292. For India, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took four wickets each.
In reply, India has already taken a lead of 49 runs at stumps on day four finishing the day 171/1 dominating the Sri Lankan bowlers. Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, played attacking shots to begin the innings and looked in fine touch unlike the first innings, where they were bowled out for a mere 172.
KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara are currently at the crease for the with Shikhar Dhawan the only wicket to fall for the hosts. Shikhar Dhawan looked on course for another Test hundred but fell short by six runs and got dismissed for 94 runs.
Talking about the status of the match, he said,
“I am feeling good and bad both (smiles). Happy that I scored runs, but disappointed that I missed the century. Even Rahul played well, good that we are making a match out of this situation. The conditions are completely different from what they were on the first day. There are swing and bounce, but it’s coming nicely onto the bat.”
“See for Rangana; I know that it’s not going to spin and he is going to pitch up. So I backed myself to play shots. It was not spinning at all; it was coming nicely onto the bat. I was just cashing in. I enjoyed hitting sixes. We are going to play positive cricket tomorrow, try to give them a decent total and make a match out of this. I could not feel the nick, so I took the chance (review). It was not that big an edge; sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t.”
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