"You have to bat well..." - Rohit Sharma blasts Virat Kohli & other batters after IND vs SL 1st ODI gets tied

Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the India National Cricket Team after a break to lead his side in the first of the three One Day Internationals against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The match was hosted by the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2.

Surprisingly enough, this was the first ODI match that the Men In Blue played in the year 2024. It was not like the Indian team didn't play many international games because, as usual, they had a packed calendar since January, but all those matches were either Tests or T20Is.

The Rohit Sharma-led Team India started off the year with the second and last Test of the two-match series against the South Africa National Cricket Team in Cape Town. Just after that, they hosted Afghanistan National Cricket Team in a three-match T20I series.

Then came a big Test series as Rohit Sharma & Co. locked horns with England National Cricket Team from January 25 to March 11.

The high-octane Test series was followed by a high-profile Indian Premier League and then was the time for the all-important T20 World Cup, which India won dominantly by clinching victories in all the matches they played. Once the World Cup was over, a young Indian team was sent to Zimbabwe for a five-match, and then came the time for the India tour of Sri Lanka 2024.

Suryakumar Yadav-led India crushed the hosts in the three-match series to start the new era under Gautam Gambhir's regime on high. After all that action in 2024, the Men In Blue played their first ODI of the year, and after losing the toss, they had to bowl first.

The score was gettable, you had to bat well to get there. We batted well in patches - Rohit Sharma

Bowling first, the visiting team did a great job and sent half of the Lankan Team back into the hut inside 27 overs at a score of 101. However, they weren't able to deal with the threat of Dunith Wellalage (67), who batted brilliantly and took Sri Lanka to 230/8.

For India, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh bagged two wickets each while the rest of the bowlers, except Shubman Gill, got one wicket each.

Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma took his team off to a flyer and smashed a brutal fifty. However, after his dismissal, India lost quick wickets. That was when KL Rahul and Axar Patel brought their team back into the game with a 57-run partnership. What happened next no one would have expected as Shivam Dube hit a good 25 runs but India lost back-to-back wickets of Dube and Arshdeep Singh and got bundled out for 230, which led to the match getting tied.

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma slammed his batters and said that the total was gettable. Rohit Sharma said:

"The scores are gettable, it's just that you have to bat well to get that score. We batted well in patches. There was no consistent momentum through the game for us. We started really well with the bat but we knew the game will start after 10 overs once the spinners come in to bowl. We had the upper hand to start with, then we lost a couple of wickets and fell behind the game. With the partnership that KL and Axar had, we again came back into the game pretty well."

Rohit Sharma further expressed his disappointment over not winning the match but lauded Sri Lanka for showing a great performance. He also spoke about the pitch and stated:

"In the end, little disappointing, 14 balls, 1 run to get. These things happen. Sri Lanka played well. In the end, it was a fair result. It (pitch) remained the same. There was bite in the first 25 overs when we bowled and it was the same for them as well. As the game went on, the seam wore off for both teams and it was a bit easier to bat. It's not where you can just come and play your shots and get runs. You have to apply yourself and dig in really well to get that score. Proud of the way how we fought till the end. The game shifted towards both teams at different times. It was important to hold the nerve and stay in the game. We should have got that one run."