Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga took full responsibility for the team’s loss.

If the second T20I at Indore was a cakewalk for India, the final one saw Virat Kohli’s men demolish Sri Lanka with a clinical performance. Despite trying out 14 of the 15 members in the squad, India was never really stretched. Shikhar Dhawan stressed that India dominated the series. “We obviously dominated the series, but there were challenges. I would say for me, it was to play well after coming back from an injury. I had to perform… so everyone had different challenges,” said Dhawan when asked whether India was tested at any point during the series.

“Some of the new players coming in, they had their own goals and challenges. The pressure to perform is always there in international cricket. I would say we still dominated the series and everyone overcame their own challenges.” The series saw Dhawan, Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah prove their fitness and skill after returning from injuries while Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey got game-time on Friday. Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga took full responsibility for the team’s loss.

Outplayed:

“We were outplayed. I was the seniormost and main bowler and I had to perform, but I couldn’t pick a single wicket in the series. I take full responsibility,” said Malinga. “Overall, it’s a learning experience for the youngsters and, hopefully, they will keep improving in future.” Malinga said the only way was upwards and hoped the batsmen realised “the importance of building an innings and partnerships rather than playing big shots all the time”.