There were some nerves but no pressure, says MoM Shardul Thakur

The fourth T20I of the Nidahas Trophy saw hosts Sri Lanka locking horns against India at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

The Lankans started off in their trademark fashion, with an array of strokeplay, and went off to a flier in the first ten overs. Kusal Mendis was going great guns in the middle, carrying on from where he left against Bangladesh.

At one point of time, Sri Lanka was eyeing a total of above 180. However, this time around, Indian bowlers made a brilliant comeback into the match at the backend of the inning.

The likes of Sundar, Shardul Thakur and others, made sure that the hosts were restricted to 152. India only conceded 44 runs and clinched 6 wickets in the final nine overs.

After a minor wobble in the Indian top order, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik took India to a comfortable win. Shardul Thakur was elected as the man of the match for his four-wicket haul.

“I loved it. Happy to receive the award. Always dreamt of winning a game for India and here I am. Frankly, there were some nerves but no pressures,” suggested Man of the match, Shardul Thakur, when asked whether the absence of Bumrah and Bhuvu meant additional pressure.

Not a 152-run wicket: Perera

“Nothing special, we just discussed how to execute our plans and it worked out for the better today,” concluded the seamer. However, losing captain reckoned that the total set by them wasn’t ample.

“This is not a 152-run wicket. The batting did well initially, but the middle-order failed. We were 30-40 runs behind. 175-180 would have been competitive and could have been defended,” commented Thisara Perera during the post-match presentation.

“First 6 overs, we couldn’t execute the bowling plans. We’ll take the positives from the match and we’ll see what we can do next match. Next game is a must-win, and I’m sure we can give our 100% next match and win the game,” concluded losing captain Thisara Perera.

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