India opener Prithvi Shaw destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack in his 24-ball stay on the crease. It was a short stay but enough to take away the hope of a comeback for Sri Lanka in the first ODI on Sunday (July 18).
A fearless Shaw gave a terrific start to India's chase and scored 43 runs at a strike rate of 179.17 which included 9 fours. His innings could have been longer but a blow on the head by pacer Dushmanta Chameera disturbed his focus, as he got out to Dhananjaya de Silva very soon.
Former India batsman Virender Sehwag praised Shaw's knock by recalling India's head coach Ravi Shastri's words for the youngster. Shastri had once said he sees a bit of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, and Virender Sehwag in Shaw.
Posting a picture of Lara and Sachin with himself, Sehwag wrote, "Pehle 5.3 overs hamara Jalwa raha."
"He (Shaw) is born to play cricket. He's been playing since the age of eight in the maidans of Mumbai. You can see all that hard work showing. He's a spectator's delight. There's a bit of Sachin there, a bit of Viru in him and when he walks there's a bit of Lara as well," Shastri had said in 2018.
India won the match by 7 wickets as they chased down the target of 263 in just 36.4 overs. Shaw won the Player of the Match for his quickfire knock.
