IND vs SL: Rohit Sharma Hails Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav For Working Hard On Their Bowling After Win vs Sri Lanka

In the fourth match of the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four stage, Rohit Sharma-led India National Cricket Team won by 41 runs against Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka National Cricket Team at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, September 12. With the victory, they have qualified for the final of Asia Cup 2023.

India won the toss and elected to bat first in the match. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill once again provided India with a spectacular start in the match. Rohit looked class apart as he scored 53 runs off 48 balls, with 7 fours and 2 sixes. KL Rahul (39), Ishan Kishan (33), and Axar Patel (26) also chipped in with crucial runs to help India post 213 on the board.

All ten wickets in the innings were picked up by the spin bowlers. Dunith Wellalage took a 5-wicket haul, Charith Asalanka bagged four wickets and Maheesh Theekshana got one wicket.

Chasing the target, the Sri Lankan top-order collapsed. Dunith Wellalage (42) and Dhananjaya de Silva (41) were the only two players who looked good against the Indian bowlers but they weren’t able to guide their side to the victory as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172 in 41.3 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show for India once again as he bagged a 4-wicket haul. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja also got two wickets each while Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya got one wicket each.

Was a good game – Rohit Sharma

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma said that the game was a challenging one for them and they enjoyed it. Rohit Sharma said:

“Was a good game. For us also to play a game like that under pressure on a slightly challenging pitch. Challenging in a lot of aspects. Definitely looking to play on pitches like this to see what we can achieve, we might as well come here and play on pitches like these.”

Rohit Sharma was also asked about the bowling of Hardik Pandya and he said that the all-rounder has worked really hard in the last few years. Rohit Sharma said:

“[on Hardik] He has worked really hard in his bowling for the last couple of years. It doesn’t happen overnight and it’s pleasing to see. He looked like taking a wicket off every ball. Was not an easy target to defend as the pitch got easier at the end and we had to put it consistently in one area and I think we did quite well.”

Rohit Sharma further said that Kuldeep Yadav, just like Hardik Pandya, has worked really hard and is bowling really well. Rohit Sharma stated:

“[on Kuldeep] For the past year or so bowling really really well. He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm. He went back to the drawing board and worked on it. The ball is coming out nicely and you can see the results in the last 10 ODIs.”