Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood lamented the bowlers’ lack of discipline after their 67-run loss to India in the first ODI in Guwahati.
Sri Lanka brought India into play after winning a draw, but only Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill kept the momentum going for the hosts with a 143-run winning streak in 19.4 overs. Virat Kohli then scored his ODI 100 for the 45th time, with India finishing a disappointing 373 out of his seven.
“Obviously we didn’t get off to a good start,” Silverwood said after the match. High score floor. We knew India needed a good start and we made it possible.
“They picked up momentum with it and had to constantly step back to put the brakes on. I think we’ve been doing that for a while, but it’s hard to stop them.”
Field work in Sri Lanka also proved inadequate. They dropped Cori twice. First he scored 52, then he scored 81. In just 87 balls he scored 113 points.
“Yeah, obviously they were expensive,” Silverwood said of the reduced catch. And we all know that if you give a player with Virat ability a chance, he’ll take it.” And that’s exactly what he did today.
“Of course it was a nice knock, but if I had taken the opportunity he presented, I would have never known it.”
In response, Sri Lanka were 206-8 at one point before captain Dasun Shanaka added 100 for an uninterrupted ninth wicket partnership with Kasun Rajtha. Shanaka finished his 108 undefeated run, but his innings only narrowed the losing lead.
Shanaka was also Sri Lanka’s top run getter in the T20I series. While praising Shanaka, Silverwood objected to the team’s over-reliance on him, with Pathum Nissanka also scoring 72 points on Tuesday to take the fourth wicket against Dhananjaya de Silva. He pointed out that he added 72. “I think he [Shanaka] made a good world for himself,” Silverwood said. He’s a great forward on the ball so hopefully he’ll get a chance.
“[But] I don’t think he relies solely on Dasun. He’s in great shape right now, so obviously he’s shining. See, there was also the Pathum Point Run today. I thought the partnership between him and Dhanan Jaya gave us some momentum when they were together.
“I’ve seen that over time, everyone raises their hands and counts. So I’m not too worried about that. Obviously, especially on such a very good circuit, they need more hands raised for them to fight and build partnerships. So it’s a constant job. “
Sri Lanka are also worried about Dilshan’s Madushanka injury as he is only a day away from the next match. The left arm closer walked away when he injured his right shoulder trying to stop him on the field.