IND vs SL 2021: "Indian cricket is flexing its muscle" - Pragyan Ojha lauds Team India after convincing win against Sri Lanka

Former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha showered praise on second-string Team India after they thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets on July 19 (Sunday) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. As a result, the Men in Blue have gone 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.

Taking to Twitter, Pragyan Ojha credited India A tours and IPL for creating a pool of cricketers who can take international cricket by storm on any given day.

Pragyan Ojha wrote:

"Indian cricket is flexing its muscle. Pure dominance and contagious confident attitude. Without a doubt frequent India A tournaments and IPL have been revolutionary."

Indian cricket is flexing its muscle. Pure dominance and contagious confident attitude. Without a doubt frequent India A tournaments and IPL have been revolutionary. #SLvIND #ShikharDhawan #RahulDravid

— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) July 19, 2021

Incidentally, the India A team has played 24 unofficial Test matches between 2017-2019, which is more than what international teams like Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh have played during the same period.

The BCCI has invested a lot of time and money in creating strong bench strength over the last couple of years under Rahul Dravid, which is reaping rewards now.

Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan's fiery star give India 1-0 lead

My dream turning into reality and there is no better feeling. Wearing the India blue is such an honor. Thank you everyone for your wishes and support. The goal remains to continue the hard work, giving it my all for my country 🇮🇳💙😍 pic.twitter.com/YzjWtSjnT2

— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) July 18, 2021

Chasing a target of 263, set by Sri Lanka after a late resurgance from Chamika Karunaratne (43* off 35 balls), India got off to a flying start. Prithvi Shaw looked like a man with a purpose and went berserk against Sri Lanka's new-ball bowlers. By the time he got out on 43, the visitors were already at 58 in just 5.3 overs.

In walked debutant Ishan Kishan, who announced his arrival with a six and four. The southpaw partnered with captain Shikhar Dhawan and steered the run chase with ease. Ishan scored a brilliant fifty on debut to become only the second Indian after Robin Uthappa to score a half-century on both ODI and T20I debuts.

They added 85 runs for the second wicket before the debutant was dismissed after scoring 58 runs. While Prithvi Shaw and Ishan Kishan went all guns blazing, Dhawan was happy to play the role of a second fiddle. But he came out of his shackles after Ishan departed.

Dhawan remained unbeaten on 86 runs along with another debutant, Suryakumar Yadav, who chipped in with 31 as India went past the target within 36.4 overs to go 1-0 up in the series.

The second ODI of the three-match series is on July 20 (Tuesday) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.