He Knew That There Was Not Much Batting - Kamran Akmal Says Shikhar Dhawan's Slow Knock Was 'Demand Of The Situation'

Veteran Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has defended Shikhar Dhawan’s scratchy knock of 40 runs off 42 balls in the second T20I versus Sri Lanka in Colombo, which the hosts won after chasing down the set target of 133 runs with 4 wickets in hand and a couple of balls to spare.

The Indian skipper received some flak on social media due to his conservative innings. Kamran Akmal, however, is of the opposite view. He pointed out that the Indian batting line-up was thin not only in experience but also in a number of genuine batters – India played with just five batsmen and six bowlers – due to 9 players in isolation.

Hence, Dhawan’s approach was cautious as he played with lesser risk lest he should lose his wicket and expose the weak lower-middle order – which eventually happened when Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked in at number 6 in the 17th over.

“Dhawan knew that there was not much batting and tried to take his innings as deep as possible. Although the strike rate was less, it was the demand of the situation and the team for him to play that way. If he had been dismissed early, India would not have been able to score even as much as they did,” Kamran Akmal said in his YouTube video.

Outstanding performance from India to take the game so close: Kamran Akmal

Nonetheless, Kamran Akmal lauded India’s bowling effort to keep the game alive till the last over. He contended that 10-15 extra runs could have even seen India win the game.

“It was an outstanding performance from India to take the game so close. Had they played with six proper batsmen, they could havs scored 10-15 extra runs and that would have been difficult for Sri Lanka. But the captaincy was good and they showed great fight till the end,” the wicketkeeper concluded.

The series now moved into the decider on Thursday. India are likely to field another debutant in place of Navdeep Saini, who injured his shoulder while fielding.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav Will Be The Man To Watch At The T20 World Cup, Calls Brad Hogg