I'm Really Proud Of How The Boys Played Today: Dasun Shanaka

Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka had shown marked improvement as he marshalled his side well in the second ODI against India. However, his efforts were not enough to deny the tourists a series victory as Deepak Chahar’s maiden ODI fifty took them home in a 276-run chase. Despite a tough loss to digest, Dasun Shanaka acknowleged the fighting spirit shown by his side.

Sri Lanka once again won the coin toss and made a solid start, stitching a 77-run opening stand. But the hosts’ innings went out of control once again as Shikhar Dhawan brought the spinners into play. It once again came down to the lower middle-order to do the rescue job as the top-order batsmen could not convert their starts into significant scores.

Charith Asalanka, who showed brilliant resistance in the first ODI, crafted the second half-century for Sri Lanka by top-scoring with 65, consisting of six fours. Chamika Karunaratne took off from where he left and made 44 to lift the Island nation towards a stiff total of 275. Contrary to the first ODI, Sri Lanka’s bowling was quite penetrative.

They reduced India to 121-5, removing the tourists’ star players rather cheaply. But the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, and finally Deepak Chahar made crucial contributions to script a memorable series victory for their side. Wanindu Hasaranga’s remarkable figures of 10-0-37-3 went in vain. But the man of the moment was arguably Deepak Chahar, who starred both with the bat and ball.

I think the thing we shouldn’t do in the next game is give them easy wickets: Dasun Shanaka

Dasun Shanaka, who delivered an impactful three overs, said that he is proud of the team despite the loss and credited Deepak Chahar for taking the game away from Sri Lanka. The 29-year old lamented losing too many wickets in the middle overs and believes they should put a greater price on their scalps. Shanaka further stated he did not bowl for a long time as there were enough bowlers already.

“I’m really proud of how the boys played today. They fought hard to get a win. Really tough game, credit to the Indian players, especially Deepak who took the game away from us. I think we started really well today. The middle period we lost wickets; I think the thing we shouldn’t do in the next game is give them easy wickets. We should bat well until the last powerplay. I didn’t bowl for a long time because there were enough bowlers in the team, but I took a chance today,” Dasun Shanaka told in the post-match presentation.

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