India vs Sri Lanka 2017: 5 positives for India from the T20I series
The Indian team selected to go for the jugular against Sri Lanka had a lot of unexpected names in it. A couple of experienced names were asked to rest and in place of them, came the youngsters who have been waiting for their 'one chance' to arrive. The team looked strong enough to rally past the Sri Lankans, albeit being short of experience.
India, expectedly, thumped Sri Lanka in the three T20Is without having to burn the candle at both ends. The rejuvenated young brigade looked like men on a mission from the word go. With almost what we call a perfect performance, Indian youngsters have done enough to stake their claim for a place in the squad for the upcoming overseas tours of 2018.
While the wrist-spinners, as always, were at their finest-best, the pacers were not much behind. Only a fool would question the know-how of any Indian batting line-up. The way the team has performed in the last twelve months or so, reckoning with them for the upcoming series wouldn't be backing the wrong horse.
We look down at the five most notable points from the T20 series.
#5 No one is better than Dhoni behind the stumps
No matter how much criticism he has to come across, Dhoni continues to enjoy the support of his fans, the selectors, and the team. "I think MS Dhoni still remains the No 1 wicket-keeper in the world and day in and day out we have been saying this." MSK Prasad's statement about Dhoni didn't surprise anyone.
But the question is, has Dhoni been delivering? If we look at the numbers then, with the bat, he was at his supreme best. In the first T20, he scored a blitzkrieg 22-ball unbeaten 39 runs to ensure India post a total that could cut Sri Lankan batting lineup's throat. In the second and the third game very little was required from his Spartan blades.
Dhoni was as good as he has ever been behind the stumps and his stumping of Asela Gunaratne in the second game was an example of how fast he can be with his keeping gloves. No wonder why Ravi Shastri thinks that a 36-year-old Dhoni can beat the 26-year-old players.