Shikhar Dhawan Lauds India's All-Round Bowling Display As The Visitors Successfully Defend 164 In The 1st T20I
Published - 26 Jul 2021, 02:11 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:50 AM
Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan lauded the all-round performance of his bowling attack in defending what he felt was an under-par total of 5/164 in 20 overs.
Dhawan admitted that the tourists were 10-15 runs of what they eventually achieved in the end. India did not get off to a great start as they lost the dashing opener, Prithvi Shaw, on the first ball of their innings.
However, Sanju Samson and Dhawan himself did the recovery job as India finished off the powerplay at 1/51. Dhawan slowed down after the powerplay and while Samson got dismissed, Suryakuamar Yadav, courtesy his 360-degree strokeplay, ensured that the southpaw did not feel the heat and the scoreboard kept on ticking. Dhawan praised SKY, who notched up his 2nd T20I fifty in three innings to end as India’s top run-getter for the night.
”I thought we were 10-15 runs short. I feel we played quite well after losing early wickets. It was about one or two boundaries, we knew we could get going. He(SKY) is a great player and we enjoy watching him bat. He took the pressure from me and the way he plays calculated shots was amazing to watch,” said Shikhar Dhawan.
Sri Lanka were going along nicely at one stage but the spin duo of Chahal [1/19] and debutant Chakravarthy [1/28] pegged them back with disciplined bowling before Bhuvneshwar Kumar blew the middle and lower order away to help India restrict the Lankans to 126 in 18.3 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan also had a word of praise for debutant Varun and Shaw, who failed to trouble the scorers.
”They were playing well, we knew our spinners will do the job on that wicket. Bhuvi bowled well, so was KP. Everyone stood up and even Varun too playing his first match did well giving a few runs and got the wicket. Prithvi is playing well and he is going to bounce back stronger. He’s (Varun) difficult to pick, I am very happy for him,” added Dhawan.
