Vizag conditions won’t be ideal for Washington

Vizag conditions won’t be ideal for Washington

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BCCI

Rohit Sharma has heaped praise on debutant Washington Sundar after India’s emphatic 121-run win over Sri Lanka on Wednesday but believes that Vizag could be tricky outing for the young spinner. The skipper also chose his 264-knock against Sri Lanka as his most cherished double ton of his three.

India leveled the three-match ODI series 1-1 with a convincing win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Mohali on Wednesday, which saw 18-year-old Washington Sundar making his international debut for the team. After India posted a mammoth target of 392 in the innings, the bowlers did well to take early wickets and prevent Sri Lanka from having a strong start. 

Sundar, who replaced chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the squad, managed to uproot Lahiru Thiramanne’s stumps with his ninth ball. Though he didn’t get much purchase after that and finished the game conceding the highest number of runs, Rohit seemed impressed with his performance.

“As a group we're looking forward to . The conditions will be different, and again we have to adapt and play to our strengths. Not the ideal conditions for to bowl, but this is how he will learn,” said Rohit after the game.

“He showed promise, and he has shown it before too, in the IPL. We want to back young players like Washington, we don't want to put too much pressure on them. I'm sure he must have learned a lot from this game, bowling with the wet ball and so on, and I wish him all the luck."

Rohit Sharma broke numerous records once again with an unbeaten knock of 208-run that propelled India to post such a huge target. This was his third ODI double ton, with his previous ones coming against Australia and Sri Lanka.

“I was only looking to keep my shape and hit through the line. It was the same thing I did in my first two 200s. I started off pretty slow then too. Very difficult to pick one. All three came at crucial times. 264 is obviously very close to me. I've said it many times, but I honestly cannot pick one,” said Rohit when asked about his most memorable of the three double centuries. 

“The Australia one was a decider, the Sri Lanka 264 - I came back after a three-month layoff after a big injury, and this one also - after a humiliating loss, we wanted to come back as a team, as a batting unit especially,” he added.

Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera was also all-praise for the Indian skipper. Despite the toss going his way and the wicket ideal for bowling first, Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan ensured that Sri Lanka never had a real chance in the game.

“Unfortunately our bowling didn't click. Especially, Rohit batted really well. That is cricket. We will take positives from this match and flush out the negatives. We had a Plan A and B and C as well - it didn't click. That's why I said Rohit batted really well,” said Perera.

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