IND vs SL: "We Were Poor In All Departments Of The Game" : Dasun Shanaka After Losing First T20I To India In Lucknow

Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka was a disappointed man after his team lost the first T20I in Lucknow. The side went down by 62 runs as they were outplayed in all three departments of the game. The bowlers gave away too many runs and the batsmen failed to apply themselves when they need to bat well to get a tough run chase.

For Rohit Sharma‘s India, it was their 10th consecutive win in the format. This Indian team under Rohit has not done anything wrong since the Indian opener was appointed as the white-ball captain.

Dasun Shanaka, on the other hand, have a lot to ponder heading into the next game. In the post-match presentation, he spoke about missing his key bowlers and the batsmen not batting with intent to get the job done.

India Read The Conditions Well, Their Batters Batted Beautifully: Dasun Shanaka

“We were really poor in all three departments. They batted beautifully, read the game and conditions really well. I could have bowled more. We are without two frontline spinners, Theekshana and Hasaranga. The replacements aren’t really experienced.”

Shanaka further said that Charith Asalanka and Dushmantha Chameera were the only positive from the first game. While Asalanka carried his bat through scoring an unbeaten 53, Chameera scored an unbeaten 24 after going for 42 with the ball in his spell.

“Asalanka was a positive from this game. Chameera is bowling beautifully. He is our main strike bowler but the situations didn’t allow me to bowl him longer” Shanaka added.

India scored 199/2 riding on contributions from skipper Rohit Sharma (44), Ishan Kishan (89) and Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 57. Their bowlers then backed the batsmen by restricting Sri Lanka to 137/6. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Venkatesh Iyer took two wickets each. Chahal and Jadeja took one each as well.

“I know Ishan for a long time now. I know the mindset he has. I know the ability he has as well. It was just about getting the kind of game that he had today. It was so pleasing to watch from the other end. The way he constructed the innings was so good, that is usually a challenge for him” said Rohit on the southpaw’s matchwinning knock.

Also Read: IND v SL: Rohit Sharma Becomes Leading Run Scorer In T20Is