Sri Lanka vs India 2021, 1st ODI - Who Said What

The 1^st ODI between India and Sri Lanka saw sheer dominance by the visitors as they won the opener by seven wickets. Winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to show up with the willows first at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. However, the home batters couldn’t fetch big numbers to gain the momentum and Chamika Karunaratne’s 43 off 35 remained the brightest spot in their batting show.

India’s skipper Shikhar Dhawan was up in his duties right from the first game and led the team from the front by playing a stunning knock of 86 off 95 balls. Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka pushed his little bit of support to Karunaratne and added 39 runs from his end as SL posted a decent 262 on the board. India’s bowling unit saw coming back of ‘Kul-Cha’ after long and the duo didn’t leave any stone unturned to flaunt the class. Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Deepak Chahar picked two wickets each.

Prithvi Shaw gives India a desirable start

Talking of India’s chase, it began in a thunderous manner as Prithvi Shaw smashed 43 off 24 balls and was eventually declared as the player of the match. The momentum was further carried up by debutant Ishan Kishan as he played a classy knock of 59 runs off 42 balls. Suryakumar Yadav’s cameo (31 off 20) at the end came as a final cracker in India’s blistering show. Lakshan Sandakan picked two wickets for Lanka while Wanindu Hasaranga kept the run flow in check with the economy of 5.00.

Player of the match, Prithvi Shaw said-

It’s fine now (about the blow to the helmet). Rahul sir didn’t say anything, I just went with my instinct and waited for the loose balls. Obviously wanted to keep scoreboard ticking and yeah. Pitch was very nice. First innings also was good but I think it got better in the second innings. Enjoy pace. Maybe after being hit on the head I lost a bit of focus.

Winning skipper, Shikhar Dhawan said-

All our boys, most of them have played earlier. They’re very matured. Very happy with the way they played. Knew that wicket has a bit of turn but the way our spinners bowled from 10th over, they got us back straightaway. All three spinners. When we batted, it was great to watch from the other end. Great strength to have them. The way the young boys play IPL, get so much exposure, their confidence level is very high. The way Prithvi and Ishan batted, they finished the game in first 15 overs. I thought about it (his hundred) but there were not many runs left. So the focus was on being not out. Even when Surya came in and batted, it looked so easy. I was like maybe I have to improve my skill.

Losing skipper, Dasun Shanaka said-

Started well but they varied the pace well. Our batsmen couldn’t get the rhythm going. Way Indian players played, they’re very aggressive. We all know how good they are but our bowlers need to improve. Have to execute our plans well.