Kusal Perera’s belligerent 66 off just 37 balls, with four towering sixes and crucial contributions from Thisara Perera in last overs helped Sri Lanka beat India in the opening match of the Nidahas trophy at R. Premadasa. After the Indian batsmen put up a decent target of 175, their bowlers failed to make a mark as the hosts hammered the bowlers all around the park. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2/37) and Washington Sundar (2/28) provided the crucial breakthroughs to control the run flow. Towards the end, Dasun Shanaka (15 not out) and Thisara Perera (22 not out) played sensibly and helped their team clinch the match.
However, after the match, Indian captain Rohit Sharma felts that his team would learn from mistakes in upcoming matches.
“A lot of credit must go to Sri Lanka, to their whole batting group. I’m sure we will learn from our mistakes,” Rohit said after the match. Rohit also said that the batsmen could have stretched the target towards the end.
“I think it was a par score, definitely something we could have defended. We could have accelerated a bit more towards the end. It was a decent wicket,” he said.
“We all know on a wicket like that you need your batting as strong as possible. Our squad is well equipped with plenty of all-rounders and that offers the balance to the side,” he added.
“I felt we’ve got enough experience in our bowling line-up. They are very much new into the scene, they have had enough experience having been in these situations before” he commented on a new look bowling attack.
India take on Bangladesh in their second match on Thursday at the same venue.
