NEWS
Follow UsThe Suryakumar Yadav-Gautam Gambhir era of Indian T20I cricket has begun on a happy note for the Men in Blue.
After being 2-0 up in the series, they made a comeback in a low-scoring game and won the game in the super-over. Batting first, the Indians were put on the back foot by the Sri Lankan bowlers, who used the seam and spinning conditions at their disposal in Pallekele.
India could score only 137/9 in their first innings, and Sri Lanka were 110/2 in 15.2 overs and entirely on track to chase the small total down. However, Sri Lanka collapsed yet again, and the unlikely duo of Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav defended nine runs in the last two overs.
Coach Gambhir looked quite elated while addressing the team and support staff post the series whitewash.
“Guys, congratulations on a great series win. Congratulations to Surya as well, outstanding captaincy and more importantly with the bat as well,” Gambhir said.
“Guys, I asked for something before the start of the game and you absolutely delivered it. This is what happens when you keep fighting. You don't give up. These kinds of games happen, and the only way these games can happen is when we keep fighting on every delivery and for every run.
This was an example of how we keep getting better and improving our skills. We need to still get better at playing on wickets like these because we might end up getting these kinds of wickets. So we should first assess the situation and conditions really quickly and also determine the par score. There is a lot to learn from this game, but more importantly, this is a great series win.”
Gambhir also double-clicked on the fitness requirements for all the players with the ODI series starting August 2nd and made it clear that even for the players who won’t be part of the ODI setup, they’ll have to maintain high fitness standards to make a comeback to the side.
“Some of the guys, who will not be part of the 50-over format, will have a longer break,” Gambhir remarked.
“You absolutely deserve it, but make sure when you come back for the Bangladesh series, keep your skills and especially the fitness levels high. You don't want to come for that series thinking that, okay, I can just turn up and probably deliver for the team. So make sure that from the fitness point of view, the fitness levels are right up there. Okay, congratulations once again, Hardik is going to wrap it up.”
Hardik Pandya, who wasn’t part of the playing XI in the last game and was rested, also praised the spirit shown by the Indian side in the game.
“First of all, well done! I think in batting first, we were challenged, and conditions were difficult, but I think after losing those early wickets Shubman [Gill] and Riyan [Parag] the way they batted and created the partnership was brilliant,” Pandya said.
“When you speak about situational awareness, I think that point of time, what you both did was very, very important. And that gave us a platform to at least reach to a decent total which our bowlers made sure bowl at the right areas. Especially, I always emphasize on the fact that the lower order has to come and chip in and I think Washi (Washington Sundar) and those 8 runs by Bishi (Ravi Bishnoi) were very important.
"As Gauti bhai mentioned, Surya, well done on making sure that the way you rotated the bowlers, making sure, showing faith in the bowlers, which you gave in the last couple of overs. That was brilliant. And as a bowling group, obviously it was fantastic everyone chipped in. Washi, well done buddy. When you win games like this, eventually it kind of takes us forward. We are taking step by step. But this was definitely a right step going forward for the future and well done to all the guys who are playing ODIs, kill it!”
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