Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said on Monday that he is focusing on the positives of the just concluded T20 International series against India and will put up a tough fight in the three-match ODI series that begins on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka came close to winning the first T20 International, but lost by two runs. The team defeated India by 16 runs in the second T20. However, Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering century in the third and final T20 in Rajkot set the stage for India to win the series 2-1.
Dasun Shanaka said on the eve of the first ODI that in the recent past, no team except South Africa has been able to win in India. We put up a tough fight in Mumbai, but they came out stronger. We have to play competitive cricket.
Emphasizing the need to perform well, Shanaka said, “It’s an important tournament for Sri Lanka as the World Cup will take place here in India so I’m looking forward to the series.” He also said that it will be a very good preparation, because the conditions will be similar. The players are prepared for this, they know the importance of this tournament.
The Sri Lankan captain scored the highest 124 runs for his team in the T20 International series at a strike rate of 187.87. He said, before coming here I wanted to do well, I practiced more, playing well against India is very important.
Regarding the first ODI to be played in Guwahati, the Sri Lankan captain believes it will be a great scoring match. He said, we’ve seen the wicket and it looks like a great scoring match.
