Gautam Gambhir has criticized Dhananjay de Silva for throwing away his wicket after taking Sri Lanka close to victory in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash against India. On Tuesday, September 12, the Men in Blue set a target of 214 runs for Dasun Shanaka and Co. at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After this, they bowled out Lankan Lions for 172 runs won by 41 runs, and confirmed their place in the league. The final will be played on Sunday.
While reviewing the game on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about his thoughts on the crucial juncture of de Silva’s dismissal, to which he replied:
“Apart from it being a turning point, he would be extremely disappointed. You don’t expect such a shot from Dhananjaya de Silva, who is an experienced player. This is the difference between a good and a great player. A great player wouldn’t have played such a shot and left you on someone else’s shoulders.”
The cricketer-turned-politician said that if a top team like India was in such a situation, it would not have allowed the opposition team to come back into the game. They said:
“They (great players) themselves leave after scoring the last run. This is the difference between being a top team and a team trying to become one. India are a top team because they have players who don’t give such opportunities.”
After Sri Lanka was reduced to 99/6, de Silva and Velazquez put on a 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket. After this, the former player sent the ball of Ravindra Jadeja straight to Shubman Gill standing at mid-on and gave India the lead and he took advantage of this opportunity by taking the last three wickets for just 10 runs.
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“You Did A Tough Job” – Gautam Gambhir On Repair Work Already Done By Dhananjay De Silva And Dunith Velez
Gautam Gambhir said that Dhananjay de Silva had already worked hard with Dunith Wellalage. He observed
“The way Wellalage was batting, if you had scored 20 or 25 more runs from there, India might have been under immense pressure. You had put in the effort. You had done the difficult task.”
The former Indian opener highlighted that if the duo had added a few more runs, Rohit Sharma & Co. would have been in a difficult position. He said:
“If you had converted the 41 runs you scored into 60 or 65 and Wellalage was scoring runs from the other end, it would have become difficult for India.”
Dunith Wellalage remained unbeaten on 42 off 46 balls as the last three wickets fell at the other end. The youngster registered figures of 5/40 in his 10 overs to demolish India’s renowned batting lineup earlier.
