Rohit Sharma firm on keeping up aggressive batting approach. In the second One-Day International at R. Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka defeated India by 32 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka defeated India by 32 runs in the second One-Day International at R. Premadasa Stadium, gaining a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Despite the setback, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma remained committed to his aggressive batting approach and spoke candidly about team strategy and individual performance.
The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first. India’s chase of 241 began promisingly but failed suddenly, thanks primarily to an outstanding bowling performance by Sri Lanka’s Jeffrey Vandersay. The leg-spinner’s career-best statistics of 6/33 were crucial in shredding India’s batting lineup.
The Men in Blue were ahead early on thanks to Sharma’s blistering 64 off 44 balls. But the visitor’s downfall started when he was dismissed for a reverse sweep, brilliantly caught by Pathum Nissanka off Vandersay’s bowling. The 37-year-old defended his shot selection strategy when asked about it during the post-match presentation.
The way I batted is what allowed me to score 64 runs. I’m willing to take risks when I bat like that, and I have no fear of doing so. Regardless of your score—100, 50, or 0—you experience disappointment if you are unable to cross the finish line. That won’t alter my intentions, though. We lost the game because we didn’t play good cricket, Rohit said.
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You have to adapt to what’s in front of you: Rohit Sharma
The Indian captain admitted the team’s inadequacies. The team’s plan to stick with left-right batting combinations was also discussed by Rohit.
“We know that playing consistent cricket is essential to winning games, and we didn’t do that today. It’s disappointing, but such things do occur. To deal with what’s in front of you, you must adjust. We thought it would be a little bit simpler to rotate the strike left-right, but that didn’t work out. Kudos to Jeffrey, who took six wickets with his accurate bowling. He continued, “Sri Lanka was a really good cricket team.
Sri Lanka’s total of 240/9 was built on contributions from Kamindu Mendis (40 off 44), Avishka Fernando (40 off 62), and Dunith Wellalage (39 off 35).
India’s bowling attack was spearheaded by Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, who took three and two wickets, respectively. Axar Patel (44 off 44) and Shubman Gill (35 off 44) gave the team some hope, but after they were removed from the game, no other batter was able to win it.
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