🏏Sri Lanka vs India-T20I Series: M3 SCA Stadium, Rajkot 07/01/2023🏏 - Page 12

Here's Chahal: I try to bowl according to the wicket. I tried to bowl on that length, and if the batter hits it, then good for him. What Surya does in nets, you see that in the match. We try and send the best bowlers to him in the nets. And I am happy to be on his team. [On Axar] Axar has always been good. He is a perfect package. It is tough to bowl to him. He hits it clean. We spoke about the positive points in the team meeting and focused on that.

Siva: "I know its not much and won't count for as is, but Tripathis innings should be the template for Indian cricket to follow"

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10.12pm Sri Lanka fought hard, but Suryakumar Yadav's third T20I century proved too much for them in the end. A chase of 229 was always going to be very tough, and the bowlers stuck to their length to defy the batters. Arshdeep Singh came back well picking three wickets, while Hardik Pandya, Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal, all picked a wicket each. The wide counter was still too high for India's liking, but don't think Hardik would be complaining too much. A special word for Axar, who can't keep a foot wrong at the moment. None of the Sri Lanka batters fired with only Shanaka and Mendis making sort of a contribution.

Animesh Pai: "Once Jadeja gets fit, it's going to be tough for him to be back in the team. I think Axar has done enough to be ahead of him. "

BapuPatel: "So, Axar Patel for the Player of the Series? " Gets my vote.

Chahal: After the first match, I had a discussion with the coaches - on what pace and line to be bowling. (On Suryakumar Yadav) He's batting at a different level and I'm happy that I'm in the same team as him. Axar is a perfect package. It's tough to bowl to him as well as he's a clean hitter.

Kush: "Looks so Easy when the batters do their job well.. This Ind T20 lineup has more INTENT and should be persisted with. Maybe extended to ODIs as well.."

Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka captain: Before coming here, I wasn't in form. From the start of this series, I got in good form. Happy with my own performance. The way the boys fought in this series, lots of positives. I had a finger injury, that's the reason I didn't bowl in this series but looking forward to bowling in the ODIs. Wishing the Indian team well, especially Surya who was too good. In the field, I want to keep calm and let the boys learn. When I come to bat, it's a different game.

Suryakumar Yadav | Player of the Match: It's really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for a game. If you do that in practice, it gets a little easier while playing the game. There is a lot of hard work involved but it's about doing quality practice sessions. You should know what your game is and prepare accordingly. Boundaries behind are like 50-60 meters, so I was targeting them. There are some shots that are pre-determined but you need to have other shots too so that if the bowler changes his plan, you can have an answer. He (Dravid) just lets me enjoy myself. He tells me to just enjoy and express myself.

Axar Patel | Player of the Series: Feel happier when the team benefits from my batting (when compared to bowling). Didn't do anything different for this series, just that the captain gave me a lot of confidence in the dugout. We do a lot of planning during team meetings but sometimes things do go wrong and I just focus on doing my plans properly.