We could've bowled them out for 40, if we were able to get Dhoni early: Suranga Lakmal

After a 1-0 series victory in the Tests, Team India’s campaign in the limited-overs leg got off to a terrible start as the host lost the 1st ODI played at the picturesque Dharmshala. Kohli-less India had no punch in the top or middle order as the Sri Lankan pacers used the conditions to avail great advantage. Suranga Lakmal ripped apart India’s batting lineup along with Angelo Mathews who started the flurry in his first over.

Lakmal maintained the perfect line and length during his spell and kept going past the edges of the Indian batsmen beating them all ends up. After the first wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, debutant Shreyas Iyer walked in. But looked out of sorts lacking technique and temperament to tackle the lateral movement.

In the middle order, Dinesh Karthik couldn’t even open his account after facing 18 deliveries. Lakma bowled all his overs in a single spell and returned with match-figures reading 10 overs, 13 runs, and 4 wickets. He bowled 4 maidens in the game and was later adjourned man of the match for his performance. It was India’s wicketkeeper MS Dhoni who helped the side take the total over 100 runs.

Dhoni batted beautifully

During an interview with Cricbuzz after the game, Lakmal was of the opinion that they had the chance of bowling India out for 40 runs. “I think they were 29 for 7 at one stage. We thought we could bowl them out for 40 runs or so. But MS Dhoni batted beautifully. Had we dismissed him early, we could have dismissed them cheaply. You’ve got to realize that he is a world-class player. He has been in these situations before, having played over 300 ODIs. Our focus was on winning the game. So we didn’t worry about it too much after we had made a good start,” Lakmal said during the interview.

Earlier, India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma too had showered praises on the wicketkeeper-batsman for his fighting inning. He said that Dhoni is the pillar of the side and will continue to be the one.