'Did you take it to heart?' - Aakash Chopra takes a dig at Arjuna Ranatunga's second string comment post India's clinical win

India took on Sri Lanka in the first ODI and outclassed them in each and every department of the game outright. The young guns of the Shikhar Dhawan-led side started attacking from the very beginning and ended the match with 15 overs remaining. In the same light, former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has taken a little dig on Arjuna Ranatunga’s second-string comment.

It was only a few days back that Ranatunga added that SLC should ask BCCI for sending their ‘second-string lineup’ for their series with Lanka. He went on to add that it’s an insult for the home team but with what happened in the opening ODI, Chopra certainly couldn’t let this chance slip away. Chopra spoke that it looked like that Indian side took the ‘second string’ comment on the heart as they played in a thunderous manner and made the decent target of 263 runs look like a children’s play.

“Did you take it to heart? Arjuna Ranatunga had said that a second-string team had been sent and that it was an insult to them. 262 runs are not that few that you win the match like this by seven wickets and 15 overs are left,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

The young Indian team showed how to silence the hosts reckons Aakash Chopra

The batting stage was lit up by Prithvi Shaw who smashed the ball to every corner of the stadium and set the perfect tone. Debutant Ishan Kishan carried the momentum and contributed with a stunning half-century (59 off 42). Chopra feels that it was purely an explosive display of batting by the visiting batsmen where skipper Dhawan did his work perfectly by supporting the other end (86* off 95).

“The young Indian team showed how to silence the hosts. The atmosphere has changed a little. The whole way of demolishing, absolutely annihilating the opposition, destructive.”

India won the game by seven wickets with 15 overs remaining and Shaw was declared as the player of the match for kicking off the chase in utmost style. The next ODI between the two nations will be played on 20th July.