IND vs SL 2017: "We showed plenty of character." - Rohit Sharma

India, led by Rohit Sharma, won the third and final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka and with that clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1 in Vizag. India won the toss and chose to bowl first in the third and final ODI of the series in Vizag. Sri Lanka was dismissed for a mere 215 and could only play 44.5 overs. Sri Lanka started as Upul Tharanga, and Sadeera Samarawickram steadied the Sri Lankan ship after an early hiccup of the dismissal of Gunathilaka. The two were involved in a 121 runs partnership before Sadeera was dismissed for 42.

Upul Tharanga was the top scorer for the tourists as he scored 95 runs falling short of a well deserved century. Tharanga’s dismissal sparked a collapse for the Sri Lankan team as they lost their last eight wickets for just 55 runs.

For India, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were the pick of the bowlers as they both picked up three wickets each. Yadav who was brought to the side in place of Washington Sundar gave away just 42 runs while Chahal gave away 46 runs.

Shikhar Dhawan scored his 12^th ODI century and guided India to a convincing win by eight wickets. India chased down the target in just 32.1 overs.

Here’s what Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation.

“Terrific comeback after the first game in Dharamsala. We showed plenty of character. This has been the hallmark of the team. Whenever we were defeated, we have always come back strong. I think the first game was a bit testing as a captain, because we didn’t put enough runs on the board, and in the second game since we had runs I had the luxury to try out a few things, and today was perfect. Whenever we put into tough situtaions, we responded well. We played as a team and that’s what counts at the end of the day. The batting of Shreyas Iyer was a big positive. He showed a lot of intent. The way he came and batted was brilliant. He batted fearlessly. The spinners put us in the driver’s seat, the way brought us back into the game was just superb. We need to continue this consistency. We are going abroad now, the next one and half year will be challenging and we have to be ready for that. The youngsters bring a lot of energy and I’m sure they are ready for all the upcoming challenges.”