India vs Sri Lanka | Shardul Thakur calls SL’s middle order collapse as the turning point
Shardul Thakur, who finished the day with career-best figures of 4/27, asserted that the 3 wickets India got in the middle overs resulted in Sri Lanka falling 20-25 runs short in yesterday’s match. He also added that he was amazed to see the variations that Washington Sundar has in his locker.
After losing the first game of the Nidahas Trophy to Sri Lanka, India fought back with a convincing win over Bangladesh in the second match. Yesterday, they came up against the Lankans again and there was a sense of deja vu as the hosts started off with a flurry of runs. In 20 overs, Sri Lanka had accumulated 94 runs and with Upal Tharanga and Kusal Mendis’ partnership reaching 60 runs, the odds were not favoring India.
Even though Shankar broke the partnership, Thisara Perera hit the rookie for two consecutive sixes and it appeared that India were back to square one. However, after Shardul got rid of the latter, the bowlers put up a monumental effort and restricted the hosts to a score of 152/9.
“The way Sri Lanka was going, they looked good for 165-170. However, we got Upul Tharanga out. He was looking to go hard at our bowlers. Then Thisara Perera came and hit a couple of boundaries. I got him out and then those crucial two-three wickets restricted them. I would say they were 20-25 runs short,” Thakur told journalists at the post-match press conference, reported Hindustan Times.
“In Twenty20 cricket, you have to be ready for surprises. The first game was an eye-opener for us. I got hit for 27 runs and there were some other bowlers that went for 15 runs in one over. I felt in the game against Bangladesh and in this game, we executed our plans better.”
One of the biggest positives that India can take away from the series is the form of Washington Sundar. The TN youngster has been in sublime form and has conceded runs at an economy of just 6, despite being used in the powerplay overs by Rohit Sharma. While the
“He (Washington) has got good variations and he tries to spin the ball. It is amazing to see his variations and that is the key,” Thakur explained.
