"Those boxes were ticked for India" - Dinesh Karthik highlights takeaways for hosts from win over Sri Lanka in 1st T20I

Following a comprehensive 62-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first T20I, Dinesh Karthik pointed out a couple of important takeaways for India from the game. The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter remarked that it was nice to see Harshal Patel bowl well in the powerplay, even though he is now considered a death-over specialist.

Batting first, Team India posted a mammoth total of 199/2 on the back of impressive knocks from Ishan Kishan (89), Shreyas Iyer (57*), and Rohit Sharma (44). The Indian bowlers then performed exceptionally well to restrict the Lankans to just 137/6 after 20 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/9), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/11), Ravindra Jadeja (1/28), and Venkatesh Iyer (2/36) were the pick of the Indian bowlers.

Speaking on Cricbuzz live, Dinesh Karthik reviewed Team India's performance in the first T20I and shed light on the positive takeaways for Rohit Sharma and co. He said:

"The things I liked in the bowling attack was to see Harshal Patel bowl in the powerplay. Venkatesh Iyer stitched his first over well. Jadeja looked good, and Chahal created two opportunities in his spell. Those boxes were ticked for India."

Dinesh Karthik also reserved special praise for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned to form after a disappointing performance on the South Africa tour.

"If there is a little bit of swing, we can see Bhuvi is a master and a handful to deal with. He had a quiet tour in South Africa, but he has come back and shown the world why he rated highly in this format, an absolute gem of a spell at the top."

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"Shreyas did a fantastic job and played a matured knock" - Zaheer Khan

Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan felt Shreyas Iyer did a great job in the first T20I as he adapted well to the situation. Zaheer emphasized that it is not easy for anyone to come into bat after a great partnership and carry forward with the same momentum.

According to Zaheer, Shreyas Iyer excelled in that role with his mature knock. He said:

"It's never easy for batsmen to walk in after a great opening partnership. You are always caught up with the tempo you want to set, that is the challenge Shreyas Iyer had and you need a good temperament to handle that. He had to adapt and adjust to the low bounce and speed of the wicket. From that point of view, Shreyas did a fantastic job and played a matured knock."

Dinesh Karthik also voiced a similar opinion. He believes Shreyas Iyer is doing the right thing by piling up scores to stay in Team India's scheme of things. He added:

"With Covid and other prevalent issues, Shreyas might get a chance to bat at any position 3,4,5 at any given point in near future. So the most important thing for him would be to put up enough scores to be part of the Indian set-up, and that's what he is doing. He did okay against West Indies, and today, he performed well."

The action will now move to Dharamshala, where the two teams will square off in the second T20I of the three-match series on Saturday.