India vs Sri Lanka | Rohit Sharma praises bowling effort in testing conditions

India vs Sri Lanka | Rohit Sharma praises bowling effort in testing conditions

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BCCI

Rohit Sharma credited his bowlers for the way they carried out the team’s plans in difficult conditions and guided India to their second victory in the Nidahas Trophy yesterday. The skipper also praised the middle order for seeing out the game after India suffered a top order collapse while chasing.

India got off to a horrendous start in their second meeting against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy yesterday. Kusal Mendis, who has been enjoying a purple patch in his career with four half-centuries in five innings, was dominant yet again and led the charge for the hosts as they put on 94 runs in the first 10 overs. Another reason that led to the blizzard of runs that came India’s way was the fact that the game had to be delayed due to rain and the bowlers were finding it hard to grip the ball properly due to the wet outfield. 

"Smart performance, especially from the bowlers. To restrict a batting unit like that, it was a great effort from the bowlers. The conditions weren't easy for the bowlers, there was a bit of dew on the ground. Neither easy for the spinners nor the pacers, but they have executed their plans really well. Just continued where we left off against Bangladesh,” Rohit asserted during the post-match presentation ceremony, reported India Today.

"The bowlers came out and executed the ideas and plans really well. We discussed a lot of things and it was very much on display for everyone to see." 

But thanks to some great bowling, particularly by Washington Sundar (2/21) and Shardul Thakur (4/27) in the middle overs, India ensured that they restricted the hosts to just 152/9 in the allotted 19 overs. However, the Indian batsmen stumbled in the second innings and even the in-form man Shikhar Dhawan could contribute only 8 runs. In the recent past, questions have been asked of the Indian middle order, who are hardly tested, with the likes of Rohit, Dhawan, and Virat Kohli usually dominating teams. But that was not what happened yesterday as Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik made a mockery of a tricky target to guide India home with nine balls to spare.

"We bat really deep, and we haven't had a batting line-up like that in a long time. We have a lot of all-rounders, but the middle-order hasn't had opportunities to bat in the recent past, but as you saw today, Manish and DK batted extremely well. Can't single out a performance, it was a complete team effort," Rohit added.

While India are now in the driving seat as far as the tournament itself is concerned, with four points in three games, Rohit was adamant that the Men in Blue would not take their eyes off the prize. India will take on Bangladesh in the final league game and if they are able to drag out a win, they will secure a place in the final of the tri-series event.

"We aren't laid back at all, because all three teams are still alive in the tournament. They can all stand at four points. So we need to continue the momentum from hereon. The new guys have all taken their opportunities and made good use of it. So we don't need to go and change anything, we just need to play the way we have over the last two years," he said, with conviction.

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