India v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI: Who Said What

Despite beginning the game on a strong note Sri Lanka once again bowed down to India and eventually, conceded the series 2-1. Beginning from a brilliant comeback from the Indian bowling contingent, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan steered the Indians way clear of the Islanders. The little resilience the Lankans showed in the first game got punctured badly and Rohit Sharma emerged victorious in his first assignment as an Indian skipper.

Batting first, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 215 runs in 44.5 overs. Whilst Upul Tharanga was going berserk, it seemed like no one can stop them from scoring 300. But Dhoni’s smart stumping sent him back for 95 and a horrible collapse from the lower order stupefied their fans. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3 wickets, giving away just 42 runs whereas Yuzvendra Chahal returned with figures of 3/46.

It was a walk in the park for the Indians despite losing Rohit Sharma early. Shreyas Iyer once again looked brilliant, playing some technically brilliant cricketing shots. Dhawan went about his innings silently and after Iyer departed for a well-made 65 off 63, he accelerated and eventually, got to his 12th ODI hundred. Dinesh Karthik got some valuable runs as well, which helped India chase the total down in 32.1 overs.

After missing out on a hundred in Mohali, something similar happened at Vishakapatnam for the young Shreyas Iyer. Even the commentators were lambasting his shot selection after he got out on 65, but the lad is clear with his intentions and says he only wants to express himself.

“I am enjoying coming out and giving interviews only when I am scoring good runs. I am enjoying myself and even my team loves it. Obviously, I used to watch these players play from the stadium and now I am playing with them. It is a great feeling. Not a lot has changed. I have been playing with these players in the last three years at the IPL. The series so far has been so good for me and I would want to continue the same in the T20I series as well,” said Shreyas just after the game was done.

A very disappointed Sri Lankan skipper Thisara Perera said,

“Really disappointing for us. We played well in the first game, and it is a good chance to beat India in India, but our bowlers didn’t execute the plans well in the last couple of games. We got a good start today, but the middle order didn’ capitalize and so we couldn’t put enough runs on the board. He (Akila Dananjaya) is a very good talent and he has a great future. That’s why I gave him the new ball. We have to stay at present and think about the future.”

Youngster Kuldeep Yadav, who was named the player of the game, said

“Obviously their batsmen were set and we knew needed wickets in the middle overs and the plan worked out for me. The wicket is good for spin and it’s just a preparation that matters. Whenever you don’t play you practice and work hard on your fitness and when you get a chance you try and put up your best performance.”

I think I’m at my best currently: Dhawan

Opener Shikhar Dhawan has had a wonderful 2017, getting a lot of big scores. He finished the ODI assignments of the year on a high, with a 12th career hundred. In the post-match presentation, where he was named the player of the series, he said he is at his best currently.

“I feel that I’m at my best and I know my game very well know and I’m happy that I’ve been able to do it consistently. Whenever I score fifty, most of the times I try and convert it into a hundred and the conversion rate is good as well. At the end of the day, you try and win games as a team and individual performances come later. I want to thank the crowd, they have been phenomenal,” He said.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma termed this triumph as ‘Terrific comeback’. He said that the side has shown great amount of character and with every defeat, they only became stronger. He also added that he is excited for the foreign tours coming ahead.

“Terrific comeback after the first game in Dharamsala. We showed plenty of character.Whenever we were defeated, we have always come back strong. As a captain, my job becomes a lot more easier that way. Very proud of the boys. I think the first game was a bit testing as a captain, because we didn’t put enough runs on the board, and in the second game since we had lot of runs I had the luxury to try out a few things. It was a perfect game for me to settle in,” Rohit Sharma added.

The batting of Shreyas Iyer was a big positive. He showed a lot of intent. The way he came out and batted was brilliant. I hope, as a team, we can continue to do that. We have to respond well as a team. This team has shown that again and again, we just need to continue from where we left off. We are going abroad now, the next one and half year will be challenging as a team and I’m sure we are ready for it,” the Skipper added.