Mahela Jayawardene: Dhawan has taken on the additional responsibilities with confidence
Mahela Jayawardene has showered praise on opener Shikhar Dhawan stating that the Indian has stepped up his game in the absence of the senior members of the team in the Nidahas Trophy. Jayawardene also had kind words for compatriot Kusal Perera who helped the Lankans beat India in the opening match.
India entered the Nidahas Trophy after a scintillating performance in the African continent, which had seen them end the series on a high with a 2-1 win over the Proteas in the three-match T20I series. After a gruelling two month tour of South Africa where the Indian side played 12 matches across all formats, the BCCI decided to give Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar some well-deserved rest owing to
The T20 side led by Rohit Sharma has won one and lost one in the ongoing tournament in Sri Lanka. Opener Shikhar Dhawan has managed to put in two good performances in the first two matches after he scored 90 and 55. Jayawardene has praised Dhawan for stepping up in the absence of the senior members in the Nidahas Trophy.
âMissing several senior players, Shikhar Dhawan has thus far taken on the additional responsibilities with confidence scoring 90 and 55. In T20 cricket, itâs always helpful when your openers are scoring runs and Dhawan has been pivotal,â wrote Jayawardene in his column for TOI.
Despite Dhawanâs performance in the first match, the Indian team lost the match to the home team. But Jayawardene said that the Indians will not overthink the loss and will try to put things right in the second meeting between the two sides.
âIndia will go into their third game, against Sri Lanka on Monday, with all to play for in this Nidahas Trophy. Of course, they will be disappointed to have lost to the hosts in their first game, but they recovered well against Bangladesh with a very efficient performance,â
âI donât think India will read too much into their opening defeat to Sri Lanka. They scored a respectable 175 for five, which is an excellent score at the Premadasa Stadium, and failed to perhaps bowl as well as they would have liked, but this is a new team with lots of inexperience. Even then, though they may have rested some senior players, sensibly so in my opinion, India
Jayawardene also lauded Sri Lankan middle-order batsman Kusal Perera for his batting performance in the first match which helped the home team pull off a memorable victory.
âTo Sri Lankaâs credit, Kusal Perera, who has been battling injury and confidence during the past year or so, produced the kind of firecracker innings, 66 from 37 balls, that makes him such an exciting talent in this format.
"He should be playing such knocks with greater consistency and I hope this innings, coming as it does after an unsettled period in the team, will signal a new phase in his career. On song, he is an extremely talented and destructive player,â wrote Jayawardene.
