The Indian cricket team went down in the series-decider against Sri Lanka at Colombo on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma and team lost the game by a whooping 110-run margin after brilliant bowling effort from Sri Lankan spinners. The Lankan Lions won the ODI series 2-0 with two victories in the last two matches and a tie in the first.
The Indian batting had been disappointing throughout the series with only the likes of skipper Rohit, Axar Patel and Washington SUndar looking in a slightly better touch.
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The Men in Blue were made to chase in all three matches, failing spectacularly in the final two. Jeffrey Vandersay took six wickets in the last match while Dunit Wellalage proved to be the point of difference on Wednesday with a fifer.
Rohit was understandably frustrated and disappointed by the team’s performance in the Sri Lanka tour but appreciated the efforts of their opposition, deeming their batters as better sweepers of the ball as compared to the Indians throughout the series.
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What did Rohit Sharma say about Sri Lanka’s sweeping?
According to the Indian skipper, Sri Lankan batters understood the condition much better and concentrated on scoring runs with sweep shots and paddle sweeps rather than using their feet. On the other hand, Indian batters focused more on using the feet which ultimately proved to be the point of difference between the two sides.
They were consistent with sweeps, taking their chances. There weren’t a lot of runs scored on the ground. They didn’t use their 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 didn’t play enough sweeps, reverse sweeps or paddle sweeps, and used our feet too much. That was the difference.
Rohti was India’s highest scorer in the third ODI with 35 runs in 20 deliveries. Apart from him, Washington played a cameo of 30 runs, while the whole batting line-up failed as India collapsed with just 138 runs on board while chasing a target of 249 runs.
Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win also proved to be their first bilateral series win against the Men in Blue in 27 years. Interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya has made amends for the T20I series loss by clinching the ODI series. On the other hand, this is Gautam Gambhir’s first series loss as India’s head coach.
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