Dasun Shanaka says bowlers did not execute plan in India’s run riot
Rohit Sharma congratulates Dasun Shanaka for his ton (Source: BCCI)
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka charted a remarkable rearguard ton against India in their series opener in Guwahati. Despite his run-chase dexterity, his team still ended up falling 67 runs short of their target and eventually conceded the opening lead to the hosts.
In a match which featured 679 runs, Shanaka blamed his bowlers for the defeat as he believes they did not utilise the swing well enough, unlike their Indian counterparts.
Dasun Shanaka says bowlers need to execute plan in place
The Sri Lankan captain lamented his bowlers efforts, which allowed the Indians to pile up 373 off their 50 overs. The cricketer said that his bowling unit did not took advantage of the new ball, something he believes the Indian bowlers did to full extent.
He also praised the Team India batters for putting up a huge total, where Virat Kohli slammed his ton and Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill cracked sparkling half-centuries.
On addressing the big defeat, he said:
“The start from India's batters and our bowlers didn't use the new ball well. Their bowlers used the swing very well. I think there was a plan, but the bowlers didn't execute it. We need to stick to the stump line and use the slower balls,”
Shanaka also reflected his own unbeaten knock of 108 in the run-chase despite receiving little-to-no support from the other end. He believes that he is getting his own basics right and might climb up the batting order in future T20Is.
“I think I'm doing the basics well. I think in ODIs, I'm not doing that well and T20Is I might have to go up the order.”
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