Colombo: Following India’s series loss to Sri Lanka, skipper Rohit Sharma expressed concern about the lack of domination against spin, and not playing enough sweep shots by the Men in Blue on a tricky surface.
With the dominating victory, the hosts won the series 2-0. It is the first time in the past 27 years that Sri Lanka won an ODI series against India.
Avishka Fernando’s 96-run knock and Dunith Wellalage’s five-wicket haul helped Sri Lanka clinch a 110-run win over India in the third ODI match of the series at the R Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. It was India’s first ODI assignment after their heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at home last year in November and ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan.
Speaking about the match in the post-match press conference, Rohit said that Lankan batters were consistent with hitting sweep shots and taking their chances, which India failed to do.
“They were consistent with sweeps, taking their chances. There were not a lot of runs scored down the ground. They did not use the feet as much as we expected. It was about using sweeps and piercing that deep square leg and midwicket field. That is something we failed to do as a batting unit. We did not play enough sweeps, reverse sweeps, or paddle sweeps, and used our feet too much. That was the difference,” said Rohit.
“If you look at Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando today [who put on an 82-run stand], they got a lot of runs square of the wicket. They were using the turn, and sweeping, making the fielder move left and right. They were smart with how they batted and we were not,” he added.
The Indian skipper admitted that Men in Blue failed to dominate against spin, but rather came under pressure against Lankan spinners. He also said when it comes to spin and playing on turning tracks, the players are given the freedom to come up with their own ways of coping with it.
“It starts with your training, When you get to your sessions, I can see the guys are working hard in the nets whenever we get the opportunity to train as well. I do not see there being a lack of effort when we want to try and play different shots,” he added.
Rohit also said that runs scored in the powerplay became critical on such pitches which get slow later and it is important to get as many runs as possible during these first 10 overs.
“My personal effort was to ensure that I score as many runs as I could. It was not as if I wanted to throw my wicket away after the powerplay. I wanted to continue the momentum and intent, but I unfortunately got dismissed while trying to play a few shots. My batting plan is pretty simple and straightforward,” he concluded.
Coming to the last match, after winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat against India in the third ODI of the series. Fine knocks from Avishka Fernando (96 in 109 balls, with nine fours and two sixes), Kusal Mendis (59 in 82 balls, with four boundaries) and Pathum Nissanka (45 in 65 balls, with five fours and two sixes) pushed SL to 248/7 in their 50 overs.
Riyan Parag (3/54) was the top bowler for India.
In the run-chase of 249 runs, India once again lost wickets regularly on spinning conditions. Except for skipper Rohit Sharma (35 in 20 balls, with six fours and a six), Virat Kohli (20 in 18 balls, with four boundaries) and Washington Sundar (30 in 25 balls, with two fours and three sixes), none of the batters looked comfortable and India was knocked down for 138 in 26.1 overs.
Dunith Wellalage (5/27) won the ‘Player of the Match award and picked up the ‘Player of the Series’ award as well for his all-round show.
