SL vs IND | We were 10-15 runs short and that made a difference in the end, admits Shikhar Dhawan

Despite losing the toss, Shikhar Dhawan and India were sent to bat first, on a surface that read tricky. While India’s start, especially from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dhawan suggested a great presence of mind, the scoring rate started to decline after Gaikwad’s dismissal. Since then, it was a struggle for the Indian batters, who could only end up putting 132 runs on the board, with only five specialist batsmen in the playing XI. 

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, after a poor start, at 12-1, took on the challenge of the visiting bowling unit. While wickets kept tumbling, at no stage did Sri Lanka look too far away from a victory. In the end, Dhananjaya de Silva’s unbeaten 40 combined with efforts from Bhanuka (36), Hasaranga (15) and Chamika Karunaratne’s 6-ball 12 took the hosts home. 

In the post-match presentation, Indian skipper Dhawan admitted that the visitors were short of the target by 10-15 runs, which made the difference. 

“The surface turned and was a stopping a bit. 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 stated.

Despite the loss at the hands of Sri Lanka, Dhawan insisted that he was proud of his team and the boys for showing a never-die attitude in the second T20I. 

“I am proud of the boys. Never say die attitude is amazing. Hats off to the boys for taking it into the last over.”