Shikhar Dhawan feels that Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw finished the game in the first 15 overs.

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India’s stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan had a wonderful time watching the young guns Prithvi Shaw and Ishan Kishan toy with the Sri Lankan bowlers. Standing at the non-striker’s end, the Southpaw had the best seat in the house to witness youngsters unleash carnage on Sri Lanka. 

Opting to bat, Sri Lanka were restricted to 262 for nine. Pacer Deepak Chahar (2/37), and spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/48), and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/52) had a fantastic outing. Picking two wickets each, these bowlers broke the middle order of Sri Lanka.

India easily conquered the target in 36.4 overs as they rode on Dhawan’s unbeaten 86, debutant Ishan Kishan’s blistering 59, and opener Prithvi Shaw’s equally aggressive 43.

Shikhar Dhawan credits Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw for finishing the game in the first 15 overs. 

1st ODI Report: Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Prithvi Shaw Shine Team India Beat Sri Lanka by Seven Wickets | Indiacom cricket | IND vs SL 2021

Captaining his first international game, Shikhar Dhawan was full of praise for India’s spin-trio — including Krunal Pandya — for bringing his side back into the game.

“We knew that the wicket had a bit of turn. But the way (our) spinners bowled from the 10th over, they got us back straight away and they took wickets and all the three spinners did amazing and then later our fast bowlers did a great job,” added the southpaw.

Shikhar Dhawan also heaped praise for the young duo of Shaw and Kishan. They took all the pressure of chase off him. Hence, he was just knocking it around after their fiery start.

“When we batted, I guess it was lovely to stand on the other end and see Prithvi going for the first seven overs and then Ishan coming in and playing his first ball of ODI cricket. I was telling him to take it easy,” he quipped.

“The way Prithvi as well as Ishan batted today, it was tremendous. They finished the game in the first 15 overs only. We were just knocking around (then),” said Dhawan.

Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka blames his batters for the loss. 

Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Dasun Shanaka was also praising the aggressive batting of the Indian team. But he also admits that Sri Lanka’s batsman should have done a better job. Most of the batters got starts but could not convert them into big scores.

“Yes, actually, earlier on we started really well but it was hanging a bit. They (Indian bowlers) varied the pace really well. So, I think our batsmen couldn’t get the rhythm going on,” he said.

“The way Indian players play, they are really aggressive. The kind of cricket they are playing is really good at the moment. We all know how good they are but our bowlers need to lift our bowling phase,” added Shanaka.

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