In challenging conditions at the Barabati Stadium here, India, inserted in, banked on opener K.L. Rahul's superb half-century to post a formidable 180 for three before Yuzvendra Chahal's four-wicket haul bundled out the tourist for 87 in 16 overs.
READ: Clinical India mauls Sri Lanka
Rahul said he wanted to grab the opportunity on his return to the T20 squad. The stylish right-hander, who played an important knock of 61 runs in India's 93-run win over Sri Lanka, highlighted the stiff competition in the Indian team. “Every innings is important. With the kind of competition in the team, whatever opportunity you get you need to go out and make it count... I'm very happy that it came off today,” said Rahul, after his second half-century in T20Is.
Reflecting on his dismissal, the Karnataka batsman, who has a century each in all three forms of international cricket, said he needed to speed up the scoring at that time. “It was not pre-meditated. We had to step up as it was the 15th over. I was the set batsman, I had to accelerate and take some chances. Unfortunately, it was a wrong shot that did not come off.”
Rahul said he had finally realised that he needed to keep his game simple in order to succeed in all forms.
About M.S. Dhoni's contribution, Rahul said, “He is in great shape, he almost killed me (with the straight drive) as soon as he came in to bat. I don't know what form (of Dhoni) you are talking about, but every time I switch on the TV or play with him he seems to get runs. The last time he was here he got a massive hundred against England. He has been contributing really well in every match. He's somebody we look up to, he's somebody who is a match winner and he will always be one.”
Meanwhile, Lankan batsman Upul Tharanga said he was disappointed with his team's below-par batting. “Disappointed with the way we batted. We should have batted 20 overs. Losing is okay but we have to get close to the target.
“It's tough to be on the losing side, but the main thing is we have to give some fight.”
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