Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 5977 runs in 142 ODI matches., 5576 in 184 IPL matches, 1673 in 64 T20 Internationals, and 2315 runs in 34 Test matches, got the chance to captain Team India at the age of 35. The Gabbar took full advantage of this opportunity. Along with India’s B team to beat Sri Lanka’s A team by 2-1 in the 3-match ODI series.
This series will also be remembered for the debut of 7 players from Team India in addition to the captaincy debut of Shikhar.
A Series To Be Remembered For The Debutants From India:
This series will be remembered for the debutants who were given a chance to showcase their talent. When the ODI and T20 series team was announced, it was clear that given the number of newcomers included in the side, almost everyone will get at least a game to play.
The first match of this series also witnessed Ishan Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav making a debut for India in ODI. Ishan Kishan announced his arrival in the ODI stage with a blistering knock of 59 runs in just 42 balls. This included 8 fours and 2 sixes. He hit a six in the first bowl he faced in his debut match.
On the other hand, Surya Kumar Yadav also contributed in his debut match, scoring 31 runs in just 20 balls, including 5 boundaries, guiding the team to the victory. So a total of 7 players made a debut in this series for India. Only Devdutt Padikkal could not get a chance to play in this three-match ODI series as a debutant.
The 7 Players Who Made Their Debut For Team India
| S.NO | NAME | ODI | Runs/Wckts | Avg |
| 1. | Suryakumar Yadav | 2 | 84 | 84.0 |
| 2 | Ishan Kishan | 2 | 60 | 30.0 |
| 3 | Rahul Chahar | 1 | 13 / 3 | 13.0 |
| 4 | Nitish Rana | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | K Gowtham | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Chetan Sakariya | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | Sanju Samson | 1 | 46 | 46 |
First ODI Stats:
Date – 18th July 2021
Venue – R. Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka
Result – India won by seven wickets
Toss- Sri Lanka (Bat first)
Scorecard – Sri Lanka- 262/9 (50). India 263/3 (36.4)
Top Scorer – Shikhar Dhawan (86*)
Top Wicket-taker – Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhananjaya de Silva (2 wickets each).
Man of the Match- Prithvi Shaw (43)
Second ODI Stats:
Date – 20th July 2021
Venue – R. Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka
Result – India won by three wickets
Toss- Sri Lanka (Bat First)
Scorecard – Sri Lanka- 275/9 (50). India 277/7 (49.1)
Top Scorer – Deepak Chahar (69*)
Highest Wicket-taker – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Wanindu Hasaranga (3 wickets each).
Man of the Match- Deepak Chahar (69*), (2/53).
Third ODI Stats:
Today after the toss, Indian Captain Shikhar Dhawan announced the team and said that there would be five debutants for this match. This is only the second time that five players are playing their debut match in a single game. Last time, it was against Australia in MCG way back in 1980 when five players played for the first time in a single game.
Date – 23rd July 2021
Venue – R. Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka
Result – Sri Lanka Won by 3 wickets
Toss- India (Match reduced to 47 overs due to rain)
Scorecard – India – 225 (43.1). Sri Lanka – 227/7 (39 overs)
Top Scorer – India, Prithi Shaw – 49, Avishka Fernando – 76
Highest Wicket-taker – Akila, Jayavikrama & Rahul Chahar (3 each) Chetan Sakariya – 2
Man of the Match- Avishka Fernando – 76
Overall Stats:
Top Scorer- Suryakumar Yadav – 124
Man of the Series- Suryakumar Yadav – 124
