Sri Lanka took the game away in powerplays, says Shikhar Dhawan

In the opening match of the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, India lost by 5 wickets courtesy a Kusal Perera show where he put the inexperienced visiting attack on the backfoot during his 37-ball 66. Vice-captain and the highest scorer for his side, Shikhar Dhawan, with 49-ball 90 dissected India’s defeat. He said that Sri Lanka took the game away in the powerplay. While had India scored 40 for 2 in the first six overs after being reduced to 9/2 in two overs, Sri Lanka posted 75 for 2 in the powerplay overs.

Since they lost early wickets, Dhawan and Manish Pandey had to play cautiously. Even though Dhawan himself managed to find the gaps at regular intervals, the game had been slowed down. Sri Lanka, on the other hand were able to post 75 for two in the powerplay, courtesy Kusal Perera, who smashed 27 runs off Shardul Thakur in the second over with the help of five fours and a six.

“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 10 an over against the spinners in the middle overs. That’s because the wicket was a little slow,” Dhawan said in the post-match press conference.

Kushal made the difference

He heaped praise on Perera, the Man of the Match, who had the crowd on its feet with a scintillating knock which included half a dozen fours and four sixes. The knock was the second fastest fifty by a Lankan against India. He also said losing two wickets early also made a difference. While skipper Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck, Suresh Raina was bowled at 1, leaving India reeling at 9 for 2 in the second over.

“The way Kusal scored that 27 runs in that over, they were 75 after six overs, that made the difference,” he said. “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,” the southpaw added.

Dhawan was the top-scorer for India as he blasted 90 off 49 balls studded with six boundaries and as many sixes. The Delhi batsman, however, was disappointed about missing out on a well-deserved hundred. He was dismissed by Danushka Gunathilaka in the 18th over.

“We were 10 runs short after six overs but I felt 174 was a good score but Kusal Perera took the game away by playing an amazing knock.”

He 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. 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 century or not. I am happy my consistency is going very good and I am enjoying it.”