Twitter Reactions: Shikhar Dhawan's sublime 90 takes India to 174 against Sri Lanka

The new look team India arrived in Colombo for the series opener of the Nidahas Trophy 2018. The Indian team are being tagged as the pre-tournament favorites to lift the tri-series trophy that involves Bangladesh apart from hosts Sri Lanka. Coming to the first game, the Indian management looked clear on their intent of trying out the bench strength.

With the seniors not being a part of the squad, the series came as an ideal opportunity for the youngsters to step up and show their skills at the highest level. On the other hand, team Sri Lanka came in to the game as the underdogs with the agenda of finishing their lackluster cricketing season on a high. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s dismal run with the bat continued as he perished in the very first over bowled by Dushmantha Chameera. A sensational grab from Jeevan Mendis sent Rohit packing on a duck. Suresh Raina, the seniormost member of the side, was cleaned up on 1 by Nuwan Pradeep in the very next over. India needed a rebuild and the men with the task in hand were Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey.

Both batsmen took their time to settle in. Post the eight over, Dhawan got a serious kick off. His intent to up the ante looked evident. On the other hand, Manish struggled to fight his way through. He was dismissed on 37 off 35 deliveries. Meanwhile, Dhawan’s magnificent form continued with the bat even after he had reached his fifty mark. Rishabh Pant got a promotion ahead of Dinesh Karthik.

Pant, who is renowned for hitting big shots, looked rather pale on the day. Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, had picked up sublime touch. He was unfortunate to have been dismissed on 90 in the 18th over. His knock came off just 49 deliveries with 6 fours and as many number of sixes. Dinesh Karthik’s final flourish of unbeaten 13 runs and Pant’s run-a-ball 23 saw India finish with 174/5 in their stipulated 20 overs. For the hosts, Chameera was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/33.

Here is how the fans reacted to the Indian innings: