Rohit Sharma said that he would not change his aggressive batting style despite India losing to Sri Lanka by 32 runs in the second ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday (August 4).
Chasing 241 to win, the visitors got off to a brilliant start thanks to Rohit’s blazing half-century at the top (64 off 44 balls). However, India’s batting order collapsed miserably after the captain’s wicket as they slumped from 97/1 to 147/6.
All 6 wickets were taken by Jeffrey Vandersay, who accounted for the dismissals of Rohit, Shubman Gill (35), Virat Kohli (14), Shivam Dube (0), Shreyas Iyer (7) and KL Rahul (0).
While Axar Patel (44 off 44) shouldered the entire batting line-up through the middle overs of the match, he didn’t get enough support from the other end. Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka also picked up three scalps as India’s innings eventually folded for 208 in 42.2 overs.
After going 1-0 down in the series, Rohit said he would not compromise on his intent regardless of the situation of the match.
The Indian captain lost his wicket while playing a reverse-sweep that was caught brilliantly by a diving Pathum Nissanka.
“The reason I got 65 runs is because of the way I batted. When I bat like that, there is bound to be risk taking, and I'm not afraid to do that. Whenever you get out, whether you score 100, 50 or zero, you feel disappointed if you don't get across the line. But that won't change my intent,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
Rohit Sharma also acknowledged that they were not good enough and called for improvement in the batting department during middle overs.
“We didn't play good cricket, that's why we lost the game. We do understand the nature of this surface and the nature of how the game is going to go as well. It gets really, really tough in the middle overs. So you have to try and capitalize in the powerplay and get as many runs as possible. That's what both openers were trying to do. But we were just not good enough today,” he remarked.
The third and final ODI is scheduled to be played in Colombo on Wednesday (August 7) with a chance for India to level the series.
