‘Prithvi and Ishan finished the game in first 15 overs’: Dhawan

TIL Desk Sports/ India captain Shikhar Dhawan says he thoroughly enjoyed watching his younger partners from the non-striker’s end toy with the Sri Lankan bowlers in the first ODI, in Colombo, on Sunday. India mauled the hosts by seven wickets, with plenty of overs to spare, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

“Absolutely, all our boys, most of them have played earlier and they are very matured and aggressive as well. The way they played the game today was tremendous. And I was very happy with their efforts,” Dhawan said, at the post-match presentation.

Opting to bat, Sri Lanka were restricted to 262 for 9, with pacer Deepak Chahar (2/37), and spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/48) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/52) picking two wickets each.

India overhauled the target in 36.4 overs, riding on Dhawan’s unbeaten 86, debutant Ishan Kishan’s blistering 59 and opener Prithvi Shaw’s equally aggressive 43. Dhawan praised the spin trio — including Krunal Pandya — for bringing his side back into the game.