We Were 50 Runs Short In The End: Shikhar Dhawan Rues Middle-Order Collapse As India Lose The 3rd ODI By 3 Wickets

Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan lamented on the flurry of wickets that his side during the middle-overs in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, admitting that the visitors were at least 50 runs short of an ideal target.

For the second game in a row, India lost wickets in clusters during the middle-overs as the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav failed to capitalize on their respective starts and got dismissed in the 40s.

India lost their way after the rain break courtesy dismissals of Manish Pandey and Yadav and they never recovered from that blow as the spin duo of Akila and Jaywickrama ran riot.

”It didn’t go our way. We tried some new players. We got a good start but again we lost too many wickets in the middle overs. We were 50 runs short in the end,’’ said Shikhar Dhawan in the post-match presentation.

India gave chances to as many as five uncapped players in the third ODI and Shikhar Dhawan was happy with the fact that young players got their chance to perform in national colors after having spent so much time quarantining.

The stand-in skipper was pleased with the way the young bowling attack fought hard while defending an under-par total.

He signed off by stating that he is looking forward to the upcoming T20I series.

‘’ I am glad the players made their debut because everyone was in quarantine for such a long time, and we had this chance because we sealed the series in the last game. I always analyze where I can improve and get better in strategies. Looking forward to the T20 series. Of course we were positive that we could defend the target but we knew that we were short. The boys gave a good fight and it was interesting in the end. We always have to keep learning,’’ said Dhawan.

Despite a three-wicket defeat in the final ODI, Shikhar Dhawan and Team India have pocketed yet bilateral series by a margin of 2-1, something they’’ look to emulate and improve on, come the T20I series.

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