IND vs SL: “It Was A Great Effort From All Batters; We Could Have Bowled Better” – Rohit Sharma After Victory In 1st ODI

The Rohit Sharma-led India National Cricket Team claimed a 67-run victory over the Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in the ODI series opener at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, January 10.

Sri Lanka won the toss and asked the Men In Blue to bat first. The decision backfired as India posted a mammoth 373/7 on the board with the help of dominant performances by the top three – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. In addition to the top three, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer made significant contributions with the bat in the middle overs.

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Kohli smoked his 45th ODI ton and smashed 113 runs off 87 balls, with 12 fours and 1 six. While, Gill scored 70 runs off 60 balls, with 11 fours, and Rohit smashed 83 runs off 67 balls, with 9 fours and 3 sixes.

Defending the target, Mohammed Siraj got two early breakthroughs by dismissing Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis. In the middle overs, Umran Malik troubled the Sri Lankan batters with his express pace.

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India’s inability to bag wickets in the end overs was once again exposed badly as they allowed Sri Lanka to go from 179/7 to 306/8 in 50 overs. Skipper Dasun Shanaka put up a great fight and registered his second ODI century, scoring a sensational 108* runs off 88 balls, including 12 fours and 3 sixes. Also, he stitched together brilliant 100* runs in 73 balls with Kasun Rajitha, but he was unable to lead Sri Lanka to a win.

We started off well with the bat, it was a great effort from all batters – Rohit Sharma

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma lavished praise on the Indians batter for their terrific showing in Guwahati. However, he felt that the bowlers could have done a better job. He said:

“Pretty impressed actually. We started off well with the bat, it was a great effort from all batters. The platform was set for all the batters, I thought we could have bowled better. Don’t want to be too critical, as the conditions were not easy. It wasn’t easy to bowl under the lights especially when dew comes in.”

Rohit Sharma further said that there are certain areas that they still need to work on as a group. He stated:

“Everyone needs to come to the party if you want to win, but we bowled well upfront. You got to be in the game to take those half-chances. You are not going to have a perfect game always, there are certain areas to work on as a group. All the eleven members need to put an effort collectively.”

Also Read: IND vs SL: Watch – Rohit Sharma Inside-Edges Dilshan Madushanka Onto His Stumps In Guwahati ODI To Miss Out On A Ton

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah