Following their failure to win the first One-Day International (ODI) of the series against Sri Lanka, India captain Rohit Sharma demanded improved batting performances. After losing by 32 runs in the second game, Rohit said that there will be discussions on the middle-order batting, which had failed in the previous two games, which irritated him even more.
The series saw Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who excelled in the ODI World Cup, fail to get going, which may potentially put their place in the playing XI in jeopardy because Rishabh Pant and Riyan Parag are waiting in the wings. Following the loss, Rohit said they didn’t give a strong enough effort and urged his teammates to play more consistently.
“Everything hurts after a game loss. India lost six wickets for fifty runs in those ten overs, but it goes beyond that. You have to play cricket consistently, and we were unable to accomplish that. A little let down, but these things do happen. Not good enough, that is. I don’t want to investigate our playing too much. However, during the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit mentioned, “There will be discussions regarding our batting in the middle overs.”
When they batted first, Sri Lanka scored 240 runs. With a 97-run partnership between Rohit and Shubman Gill, India got off to a fast start.
As India was coasting to victory, Rohit in particular struck his second half-century of the series. But things took a sharp turn for the worst after Gill was removed, as India lost three wickets in a row within seven runs.
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After being promoted to bat at number five, Axar Patel held one end but received no assistance from the other end. While the lower middle order demonstrated tenacity but fell short, Iyer and Rahul were visitors on the crease. With only 22 runs scored from a combined 67 deliveries, Sundar and Kuldeep demonstrate the quality of Sri Lankan bowlers and the extreme pressure the visitors were under. With six wickets during the match, spinner Jeffrey Vandersay produced an outstanding performance.
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