In the three-match Twenty20 International series in Pallekele, the Men in Blue easily defeated Sri Lanka, marking a remarkable beginning to Gautam Gambhir’s stint as India’s head coach.
Gautam Gambhir praised his players for their resilience after India emerged victorious in the third Twenty20 International in the Super Over, particularly in the final five overs when Sri Lanka needed just thirty runs to win with nine wickets remaining in the pavilion.
“Guys, congrats on a fantastic series victory. Additionally, congratulations to Surya [Suryakumar Yadav]. Excellent leadership, but even more so with the bat. Guys, you guys more than fulfilled my request before the game even started. In a video that the BCCI released on its social media accounts, Gambhir stated, “This is what happens when you keep fighting, you don’t give up. These kinds of games can happen only when we keep fighting on every delivery and for every run and this was the example.”
The surface for the third Twenty20 International was rather dry, giving the spinners plenty of grip and making the hitters work extremely hard to score runs. According to the former cricket player for India, the team’s skill set needs to be strengthened on surfaces like these. He discussed the significance of determining a par score and evaluating the circumstances.
We continue to develop and enhance our abilities since we still need to get better at playing on wickets like these. because these kinds of wickets could be what we end up with. Thus, we should ascertain the par score as well as the circumstances and situation as soon as possible. Although there are many lessons to be learnt from this game, Gambhir said that winning the series is the most important thing.
Watch the video below:
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 💙
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir 🤝 Hardik Pandya address the dressing room as the action now shifts to the ODIs in Colombo #TeamIndia | #SLvIND | @GautamGambhir | @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/PFrTEVzdvd
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 31, 2024
After being down to 48/5 at one point, India finished their 20 overs with a score of 137/9. After losing a number of wickets at the end of their run-chase, Sri Lanka finished at 137/8 after coasting to 108/1 in 15 overs. In the Super Over, Washington Sundar gave up just two runs while dismissing Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka. Maheesh Theekshana was swept for a boundary by Suryakumar Yadav, who needed just one ball to surpass the three-run objective.
Also Read: Washington Sundar describes Suryakumar Yadav’s unexpected Super Over call-up, saying, “I had no idea I was going to bowl.”
The first edition of the three-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka will take place in Colombo on Friday, August 2.
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