India have taken an unassailable lead against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series. The hosts won the first two games to secure another series victory against their neighbours. While India comprehensively won the first ODI, their batters were made to toil hard in the chase of 216 in the second match. Sri Lanka bowlers put on a spirited performance, dismissing six Indian batters before Kuldeep Yadav hit the winning run.
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KL Rahul scored a half-century to bail India out of trouble. Hardik Pandya (36) and Shreyas Iyer (28) also chipped in. Overall, it was a good game of cricket with bowlers dominating the proceedings. India captain Rohit Sharm looked happy at how his team performed. Sharma heaped praise on Rahul for batting through the innings and taking India home.
“KL has been batting at five for a long period of time now and it gives us the depth. Gives you the confidence as well at the top of the order for us to go and bat freely. It was a good display of batsmanship,” said Sharma about Rahul.
Meanwhile, when Rohit was indirectly asked about Ishan Kishan warming the bench despite scoring a double hundred, the Indian captain explained his team combination. Sharma said that although the team needs a left-handed batter in the top order, he is happy with the right-handed batters doing the job for now.
“It will be nice to have a left-hander in the top order but guys who are being given the chance have got a lot of runs in the last one year. Ideally, we would like to have a left-hander but we know the quality of our right-handers and are quite comfortable with that at the moment,” said Rohit at the post-match presentation.
The India captain also talked about any possible changes to the lineup for the final ODI. “We haven't thought about it yet, once we get there we'll have a look at the pitch and have a look at some of our guys. There are 3 ODIs coming up against New Zealand as well, so we need to keep the guys fresh. We've got a long season now and we need to keep everything in mind. If needed, we'll make some changes,” said Sharma.