It was a horrendous bowling performance in the powerplay by the Men in Blue which cost them the opening T20I against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy 2018.
It was a whirlwind knock from the blade of Kusal Perera which helped Sri Lanka coast home. It was his 37 balls 66 which laid the foundation for a Sri Lankan victory.
While batting first, India posted a decent total of 174 for five on the board. They were jolted early with twin strikes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.
Later, It was a brilliant knock of 90 by Shikhar Dhawan which propelled India to a score of 174/5 in their allotted 20 overs. However when Sri Lanka came out to it was power-hitting at its very best. Perera smashed the Indian bowlers all around the park. Shardul Thakur ended up conceding 27 runs in an over which included three sixes and a couple of fours.
Shikhar Dhawan conceded the fact it was the first six overs in the Sri Lankan innings which cost India the match.
“It was in the first six overs that they took the game away from us. After the first six overs even they weren’t hitting the ball that frequently – it wasn’t like ten an over against the spinners in the middle overs. That’s because the wicket was a little slow,” Dhawan said.
The southpaw also heaped praises on Kusal Perera who was the match-winner.
“The way Kushal scored that 27 runs in that over, they were 75 after six overs, that made the difference,” he said.
He further added losing the two early wickets of Rohit and Raina also made a huge difference given the power-hitting ability of both the batsmen.
“They took two wickets in the first two overs, and that did the damage. We could have been more aggressive if we wouldn’t have lost wickets. We had to ensure we don’t lose any more wickets and also score runs,” he said.
“We were ten runs short after six overs, but I felt 174 was a good score, but Kushal Perera took the game away by playing an amazing knock.”
Talking about his own game and a fantastic innings Dhawan said,
“I have been playing very aggressive at the start, I know my game, and that’s how I have been playing. I have been scoring runs at a quick pace.”
He was, however, disappointed at missing out on a well-deserved century. Had he reached the feat, he would have become the fourth Indian batsman to score a T20I century.
“I was disappointed that I couldn’t score a century, but at that time the team wanted to go after bowling, so I didn’t care if I get a century or not. I am happy my consistency is going very good, and I am enjoying it.”
He further conceded the visitors will look to take the positives from this match to the next game against the Bangla Tigers tomorrow.
“We just lost one game, so it is a not a big deal, we will learn from it and go with all the positives in the next,” he said.
Meanwhile Player of the Match, Kusal Perera also felt it was Sri Lanka’s power-hitting which helped Sri Lanka coast to a pretty comfortable victory in the end.
“We had to attack in the first six overs. As the target was 175, we needed some momentum,” Kusal said after the match.
“When you get that kind of start, it is easier for the innings to progress smoothly, but you don’t get that kind of start every game. The first six overs had a great impact on the match.
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