Rohit sharp statement on India defeat
Rohit Sharma termed the 32-run loss in the second ODI against Sri Lanka as painful and said that there will be a discussion on the way the batsmen played in the middle overs. Indian captain Rohit Sharma termed the 32-run loss in the second ODI against Sri Lanka as painful and said that there will be a discussion on the way the batsmen played in the middle overs on Sunday. India were jolted by leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay’s six-wicket haul as they were bowled out for 208 while chasing 241, once again exposing their weakness against spin.
When you lose a match, everything hurts. It is not just about those 10 overs (when India lost six wickets for 50 runs). You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that. A little disappointed but such things keep happening, Rohit Sharma said at the post-match prize distribution ceremony. “We were not good enough. I don’t want to look too much at the way we played. But there will be a discussion about our batting in the middle overs, he said.
Adapting to the conditions
You have to adapt to the conditions that you are faced with. With a left-right (combination of batsmen), we thought it would be easier to rotate the strike. But credit to Jeffrey, he took six wickets.” The 37-year-old said there will be no change in his approach despite the failure in this match.
I was able to score 65 runs because of the way I batted. When I bat like this, a lot of risks are taken. If you don’t get across the line, you always feel disappointed. But I don’t want to compromise on my intent. We understand the nature of this surface, it gets really tough in the middle overs. You have to try and score as many runs as possible in the powerplay, he said.
As a captain, I like these kind of problems
I was happy with the score, 240 was quite good. As a captain, I like these kind of problems (lots of spin options). It was an incredible spell by him (Vandersay).” However, Asalanka is expected to contribute with the bat as well in the next match.
I am primarily a batsman, and I have to score runs. After that I can bowl a few overs,” he said. Player of the Match Vandersay said there was a bit of pressure on him to perform as he came into the squad as a replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga, who was ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury.
There was a lot of pressure before I came into the squad. I am coming back from a holiday. It is easy to take credit (for yourself). But I also want to give credit to the batsmen, who scored 240 runs.” The 34-year-old said he will have to push himself to be among the regulars.
We did not play good cricket
Rohit also admitted that India did not perform well with the bat. Earlier, Washington Sundar picked up three wickets and helped restrict the visitors to 240 for nine. But could not cope with the guile of Vandersay, who finished the match with figures of 10-0-33-6.
We did not play good cricket, so we lost the match. We understand the nature of this surface and the way the game progresses. It gets really tough in the middle overs. So you have to try and score as many runs as possible in the powerplay. That’s what both the openers were trying to do. But today we were not that good, Rohit said.
Statistical highlights of Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd ODI
Rohit is now the fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs for India with 10831 runs. He has surpassed Rahul Dravid, who scored 10,768 runs in his ODI career.
Rohit has scored his fourth half-century in his last five international innings, including two half-centuries in his last three innings in the 2024 World T20.
Sundar took 3-30 today. These are his joint-best ODI figures. He had earlier taken 3-30 against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in February 2022.
Total number of wickets
Asalanka has taken six wickets in two ODIs in the series against India, taking his total number of ODI wickets to 11. Before the series, he had taken just 5 wickets in 59 ODIs. This was Sri Lanka’s first win in the last eight ODIs against them. This includes 1 win, 1 tie and six losses in the 2023 Asia Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup.
Conclusion
Rohit Sharma said that he will not change his mind despite losing to Sri Lanka by 32 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (August 3). Chasing 241, Rohit and Shubman Gill added 97 runs for the opening wicket in 13.3 overs after which the Men in Blue took the lead. Jeffrey Vandersay broke the partnership by dismissing Rohit, who was caught by Pathum Nissanka while attempting a switch sweep.
