Colombo: The Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian side lost to hosts Sri Lanka by four wickets in Colombo on Wednesday. After the loss, the Indian stand-in skipper pointed out what made the difference. According to him, he felt that the team was 15-20 runs short and that is what could have made all the difference.
“We knew we were one batter short. We knew we had to construct our innings smartly. We were 10-15 runs short. That would have made the difference,” Dhawan said at the post-match presentation.
Despite the loss, Dhawan said that he was proud of the boy and the way they played. He admitted that he was happy that the boys did not give up and took the game to the last over.
“I am proud of the boys. Never say die attitude is amazing. Hats off to the boys for taking it into the last over,” he added.
Dhananjaya de Silva (40 not out) anchored a tricky Lankan chase after India scored 132 for five. The hosts won with two balls to spare.
Vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/21 in 4 overs) was economical till Chamika Karunartne launched his full-toss for a six. The 12 runs from that over brought the equation down to 8 runs off final overs which was very difficult for debutant Chetan Sakariya to defend.
If one bowler despite figures of 2/30 will be annoyed is Kuldeep, who was brilliant but was let down by his fielders, who dropped a couple of catches. Some poor effort in the outfield also spoilt his figures.
Yadav outfoxed opposition skipper Dasun Shanaka by shortening the length of his stock delivery the one that turns into the right-hander drawing him out and Sanju Samson affected a smart leg-side stumping.
Minod Bhanuka (36 off 31 balls) also tried to fetch a widish tossed up delivery outside the off-stump and holed out at deep mid-wicket just after Bhuvneshwar had dropped one while running backwards when he skied one against the turn in the cover region.
(With inputs)