I Went With My Instinct And Was Looking For Boundaries: Prithvi Shaw

India’s stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan made a handsome start to his captaincy career as he scored a half-century to lead his nation to a comfortable win in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan might have lost the toss; however, his bowlers responded well by restricting Sri Lanka to a gettable total. However, Prithvi Shaw walked away with the man of the match award for playing aggressively at the top.

Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first as Sri Lanka started steadily, adding 49 inside ten overs for the opening stand. But the hosts slipped to 117-4 quickly as the spinners put the lid on the run-scoring by striking. Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanka ensured that Sri Lanka did not fall apart instantly by stitching a 49-run partnership. But the highlight of the innings was Chamika Karunaratne’s cameo of 43 that set India 263 to win.

Nevertheless, Prithvi Shaw began dashing their hopes by giving India a fiery start. He smacked nine boundaries in his 24-ball 43, including two in the first over and three successive off Isuru Udana’s second over. But Shaw holed out to long-on in the sixth over off Dhananjaya de Silva’s first. However, he kickstarted India’s tricky run-chase in style as they romped home with 13 overs to spare.

I was disappointed with the shot when I got out: Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw, who copped a blow to his head, said he was confident about it being fine and wanted to hit only boundaries. The 22-year old stated he loves to get the scoreboard ticking and felt that pitch got better for batting in the second innings. The right-handed batsman revealed his liking to face pace bowlers and said he lost a bit of focus after being hit on his head.

“It’s fine now, a bit of pain but it’s okay. Rahul sir didn’t say anything when I went in. I went with my instinct and was looking for boundaries. As a batsman, I try to keep the scoreboard ticking. The pitch was good in the first innings and it got better in the second innings. And I like facing fast bowlers. I was disappointed with the shot when I got out. I lost a bit of focus after I was hit on the head,” Shaw told in the post-match presentation.

Also Read: Dasun Shanaka Happy To Take Up Captaincy; Highlights Where Sri Lanka Went Wrong