Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka stunned the Indian bowlers for the second consecutive day at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday. Shanaka hit a terrific knock of 74 in just 38 balls to help the visitors put a respectable score of 146 on the board. Earlier after winning the toss and bowling first, the Lankans found themselves struggling at 29 for 4.
Shanaka’s knock included nine boundaries and two sixes. The Sri Lankan skipper had shown his big-hitting ability on Saturday in the second T20I too where he played a quick-fire knock of 47 in just 19 balls which included two boundaries and five maximums. The visitors had put up a big score of 183 on the board in the second game but it ended in vain and India comfortable chased down the total with 17 balls remaining.
After Shanaka’s back-to-back displays of incredible power-hitting, cricket fans were left in awe of his effort and lavished praise on him on social media. Some questioned why he does not have an Indian Premier League contract while others wondered if his fate in the auction would have been different if the bidding process took place after this series.
Talking about the match, Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan’s stunning display with the new-ball ensured the Sri Lankans struggled to get momentum in the opening ten overs of the innings. Avesh took two wickets while Siraj, Harshal Patel, and Ravi Bishnoi took one scalp each. Apart from Shanaka, Dinesh Chandimal’s 22 was the highest score by a Sri Lankan.
While Shanaka has impressed with the bat in this series, he has only taken one wickets so far in the series. He will hope to show his magic with the ball if the visitors are to avoid a whitewash.
