Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has revealed why the hosts refused to run-out Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka at the non-striker’s end during the final over bowled by Mohammed Shami. Riding on Virat Kohli’s 45th ODI century, Rohit-led Team India outclassed Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the series opener at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma played a crucial role in allowing his Sri Lankan counterpart Dasun Shanaka to complete his memorable century against a Virat Kohli-inspired Team India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday. Kickstarting its dress rehearsals for the 2023 edition of the ICC World Cup, two-time champions India squared off against Shanaka-led Sri Lanka in the first One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series at Guwahati.
Thanks to Rohit, Gill, and Kohli’s sublime knocks, Shanaka-led Sri Lanka were left with a mountain to climb in the high-scoring contest at Barsapara Cricket Stadium. An in-form Shanaka, who led the comeback of the demoralized visitors, showed a one-shot gem in Sri Lanka’s fruitless pursuit in Guwahati. Interestingly, Shanaka could have been eliminated for 98 in the final over of Sri Lanka’s innings.
At the end of the final, Indian pacesetter Mohammed Shami managed to get the non-striker (Shanaka) out of the way after the Sri Lankan captain backed off too far before completing his delivery. Reflecting his high standards of sportsmanship, Indian skipper Rohit decided to withdraw his appeal as the lifeline was passed to Shanaka in the dramatic finale.
When asked about the notable incident at the post-match award ceremony, Indian captain Rohit praised the Sri Lankan captain for bravely tapping. I did. when he appealed. Again he (Shanaka) hit his 98. His hitting was great. we have to give it to him. You can’t take him out like that. We wanted to get him out the way we thought we would get him out. But we hadn’t thought of that. But again, hats off, he played really well,” Rohit told his Murali Kartik after India beat Sri Lanka.
After keeping the shot in Shami’s final match, Shanaka broke the line with his penultimate ball of the competition to end a century. Sri Lankan skipper Shanaka was undefeated on 108 of his 88 pitches, with Sri Lanka going 306-8 as he went 50 overs. Shanaka’s batting hero was in vain, but Kohli starrer India outscored the visitors with 67 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series. Rohit’s India will face Shanaka-led Sri Lanka in Thursday’s second ODI.