“Important for the top-order to click in. I think players will do well in this game,” Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka had told host broadcaster Star Sports at the toss before the ongoing second T20I against India in Pune.
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Less did the Sri Lankan fans would’ve thought that both Shanaka’s expectations from his team would come true tonight. A couple of brilliant efforts by batters in Sri Lanka’s Top Four were followed by Shanaka taking the mantle upon himself to power Sri Lanka to 206/6 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first by his counterpart Hardik Pandya.
In spite of the former’s strike rate of 94.28, Pathum Nissanka and (33) and Kusal Mendis (52) joined hands for a 50-ball 80-run opening partnership to lay a solid foundation at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium tonight.
Batter Charith Asalanka (37) took care of the middle overs by hitting four sixes at a strike rate of 194.73 before Shanaka didn’t waste an opportunity to finish the innings in a blazing manner. A fifth T20I half-century for the 31-year old player saw him scoring 56* (22) comprising two fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 254.54.
Shanaka, who registered a 20-ball half-century, hit all his sixes against Indian pacers namely Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Mavi in the last three overs of the innings.
Dasun Shanaka IPL auction
As is the case before any Indian Premier League season, fans didn’t deter from their tendency of not inquiring about a player’s franchise after a proper T20 innings.
Yet to make his IPL debut, it is worth mentioning that Shanaka was one of the 405 players shortlisted for IPL 2023 mini-auction conducted in Kochi last month. Readers must note that Shanaka had remained unsold in spite of a comparatively lower base price of INR 50 lakh.
Although a player of Shanaka’s ability deserves to play in the IPL, there is no explanation whatsoever to whatever happens in an IPL auction.
Outside of Sri Lanka and domestic teams and franchises in the island nation, Shanaka has only participated in the Bangladesh Premier League in the T20 circuit.
