Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli© AFP
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma termed the 32-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the second ODI as hurting, and said there will be discussions about the way batters played in the middle-overs on Sunday. India were jolted by leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay's six-wicket haul, and were bowled out for 208 while chasing 241, once again exposing their fragility against spin. "When you lose a game, everything hurts. It's 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. Little disappointed but these things happen," said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony. "We weren't good enough. Don't want to look too much into how we played. But there'll be talks about our batting in the middle overs," he added.
Rohit said India batters need to adapt quickly to the pitches here.
"You got to adapt to what's in front of you. With left-right (combination of batsmen), we felt it'll be easier to rotate strike. But credit to Jeffrey, he got six wickets." The 37-year-old said there will not be any change in his approach despite the setback in this match.
"The reason I got 65 is because of the way I batted. When I am batting like that, there's a lot of risks taken. If you don't cross the line, you always feel disappointed.
"But I don't want to compromise on my intent. We understand nature of this surface, it gets really tough in the middle overs. You have to try to get as many as possible in the powerplay," he added.
Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka said their total of 240 was enough under the conditions.
"I was happy with the score -- 240 was good enough. As a captain, I like this kind of problems (plenty of spin options). It was an unbelievable spell by him (Vandersay)." However, Asalanka hoped to chip in with the bat too in the next match.
"I am mainly a batter, and I have to score runs. After that I can bowl a few overs," he said.
Player of the match Wandersay said there was a bit of pressure on him to perform as he came into the side as a replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga, who was ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury.
"There was a lot of pressure coming into the side. I am coming out of a layoff. It is easier to take credit (for myself). But I want to give credit to the batters as well, who put 240 runs on board." The 34-year-old said he will have to keep pushing himself to be in among the regular players.
"Hasaranga is our No. 1 spinner. I got to understand the atmosphere of the team and team balance. I have to keep pushing myself." Vandersay said the wicket of Rohit Sharma boosted his confidence.
"There was assistance in the wicket, I was trying to hit the good areas. Once I got my first wicket (Rohit), that built up my confidence," he said. PTI UNG 7/21/2024 AH AH AH
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