SL vs Ind: Nonavailability of players posed difficulties but we decided to play, says Dhawan
Jul 30, 2021
Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 29 : Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday admitted that players not being available for the last two T20I against Sri Lanka was a "difficult situation" for the visitors but they still decided to stay and play.
Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and eight Indian players -- Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan, and K Gowtham were identified as close contacts and hence were ruled out of remaining games.
"It was a difficult situation for us but as a team, we decided we will stay and play the series. Lots of learnings for me as captain," Dhawan said after Sri Lanka won the T20I series.
Earlier in the day, Hasaranga celebrated his 24th birthday in style as he picked four wickets to restrict India to 81/8
Sri Lanka needed 82 runs to win against the depleted Indian side in the series decider and the hosts chased down the target comfortably inside 15 overs.
"Last game was a close one, today it was an off day for the batting unit but the boys will learn from it. We lost too many wickets today and the Sri Lanka bowlers bowled well," said Dhawan.
"When you lose early wickets and you don't have a long batting, you are under pressure. Both teams played in great spirit and it's a beautiful feeling," he added.
Chasing 82, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start as Rahul Chahar removed opening batsman Avishka Fernando in the sixth over. It was a slow start from Sri Lanka but the hosts were far from any trouble as they only needed 82 runs to win.
Chahar did pick two more wickets as he dismissed Minod Bhanuka and Sadeera Samarawickrama but wasn't able to stop Sri Lanka from chasing the target.
