Shikhar Dhawan won his first toss as a captain in the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka. India never batted first in this ODI series but finally, they got the chance to put big runs on the board while batting first. However, fans were left unhappy after the disappointing performance of team India with the bat in 1st innings. Eventually, Sri Lanka won the match by chasing a low total, opener Fernando was Sri Lanka’s main man in the chase.
Skipper Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw failed to provide a good start to the team. India lost the first wicket in name of Shikhar Dhawan (13) at a score of just 28. However young Prithvi Shaw (49) and debutant Sanju Samson (46) batted amazingly helping team India touch the 100 runs mark. Soon the two-star batsmen lost their wickets before 20 overs also both of the batsmen missed well-deserving fifty.
Leaving out DDP & Ruturaj is not a concern to me, what's imp is both are kept in the mix. They shouldn't be kept in cold storage for long. On the selectors radar and team managements scheme of things. Tough to accomodate now I agree but imp to make them feel wanted. #SLvIND
— Mikkhail Vaswani (@MikkhailVaswani) July 23, 2021
Although after that India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and no batsmen were able to leave an impact. Only Suryakumar Yadav was able to touch the 40 runs mark before giving away his wicket to Dananjaya. Meanwhile from 102-2 at one stage India was reduced to 195-8. India’s tail contributed some runs and Shikhar led side managed to score 225 runs. Notably Sri Lanka bowled out India in 43.1 overs. Sri Lankan Praveen Jayawickrama and Akila Dananjaya picked three wickets each.
Avishka Fernando steers Sri Lanka home in Colombo
While chasing a comparatively low target of 226 Sri Lanka lost Minod Bhanuka (7) in the 6th over. However then Bhanuka Rajapaksa (65) and Avishka Fernando (76) made things difficult for Indian bowlers. They helped Sri Lanka reach 144 where Rajapaksa lost his wicket to Debutdant Chetan Sakariya. Also soon the Rajasthan Royals bowler dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva at the score of 2.
Meanwhile, opener Avishka Fernando (76) and Charith Asalanka (24) showed a batting master class. However, India made a strong comeback by dismissing Fernando and Asalanka, and Dasun Shanaka (0). However, still, somehow Sri Lanka chased the target to win their first game of the ODI series.
Here is what Shikhar Dhawan, Dasun Shanka, Avishka Fernando and Man of the series Suryakumar Yadav said in the post-match presentation:
Shikhar Dhawan: It didn’t go our way. We tried some new players. We got a good start but again we lost too many wickets in the middle overs. We were 50 runs short in the end. I am glad the players made their debut because everyone was in quarantine for such a long time, and we had this chance because we sealed the series in the last game. I always analyze where I can improve and get better in strategies. Looking forward to the T20 series. Of course we were positive that we could defend the target but we knew that we were short. The boys gave a good fight and it was interesting in the end. We always have to keep learning.
Suryakumar Yadav: I think I have been doing the same things for the last two years. Just look to keep it simple and the mantra has been working. I would have loved to make it big in the last two games, but I am learning. The atmosphere in the camp is really positive and am looking forward to the T20 series.
Dasun Shanaka: Congrats to India for winning the series. It was a very good series throughout and I am really happy with how we played. The bowlers showed maturity, that’s what I expect from the youngsters. I hope they will continue this in the future tours as well. When you play international cricket for long, the guys will improve and play consistently. It is a very big win for the fans. We have been waiting for very long and have won after very long against India at home. I want to thank all my players and the support staff. Actually, I enjoy captaining.
Avishka Fernando: If we had done well in the second match, we would have won the series. After the England tour I worked on my batting and that helped in scoring runs here. We have a very young side and going forward, I believe this young side will do well.
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