In the wake of India's loss to Sri Lanka, MS Dhoni has defended the performance of the Indian team while looking at the positive side. He has stated that the lower order has gained valuable experience which can come in handy at the T20 World Cup.
Dhoni said, "If we continue to get runs only through our top order till the World Cup, the lower order won't get the exposure. It is possible that they would get to bat directly in a crucial match in World Cup. At least, they are getting exposed now and getting the taste of international cricket."
Dhoni is looking at the glass being half full here. While others may criticize the batting lineup of the Indian team for collapsing against Sri Lanka, the captain sees it as an experience the team can learn and grow from.
"We had not played this kind of a game for a long time. Everybody got a chance to bat and everybody faced pressure. The result didn't go our way. But there were a lot of positives from this game. Sri Lanka did bowl well but we could have batted slightly different." he said.
India were all out for 101 runs in 18.5 overs. Two of India's batsmen were out for a duck in the T20I against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, both failed to score a single run. The captain himself, MS Dhoni, scored just 2 runs from 2 balls.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the highest scorer for India as he scored 31 runs from 24 deliveries. Suresh Raina was the next leading scorer as he had 20 runs from 20 deliveries. Yuvraj Singh was the only other batsman to score in double digits as he had 10 runs from 14 deliveries.
India ended up losing to Sri Lanka who finished with 105/5 by the 18th over. India will next face Sri Lanka in the second match of the T20I series in Ranchi on Friday. They are expected to field the same side for the match.
Sri Lanka, however, will probably have the services of opener Tillakaratne Dilshan for the second match. He was out of the first one due to a hand injury.
Probable lineups:
India: MS Dhoni (C) and (WK), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah
Sri Lanka XI: Dinesh Chandimal (C), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Chamara Kapugedara, Dasun Shanaka, Seekuge Prasanna, Milinda Siriwardana, Thisara Perera, Sachitra Senanayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajith
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