India captain Rohit Sharma was left disappointed with the team’s batting performance in the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Friday, August 2 at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Notably, India failed to chase down the target of 231 despite a phenomenal start by the Indian skipper as the game ended in a tie.
Wanindu Hasaranga (3/58), Charith Asalanka (3/30) and Dunith Wellalage (2/39) spun a web around the Indian batters and bundled them out for 230 in 47.5 overs. As a result, Sri Lanka and India tied just for the second time in their ODI history. Speaking after the game, Rohit was left disappointed with the team’s batting performance as he said that the score was gettable. The Indian skipper mentioned that they played well in patches but should’ve scored the remaining one run.
“The score was gettable, you had to bat well to get there. We batted well in patches. No consistent momentum. We had the upper hand, we lost a couple of wickets. With the KL-Axar partnership, we came back. Little disappointing at the end. These things happened. Sri Lanka played well. In the end, it was a fair result. It (pitch) remained the same. It’s not where you can come and play your shots. You have to dig in. The game shifted towards both teams at different times. We should have got that one run,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
Earlier, the India captain got the team off to a thunderous start with captain Rohit Sharma scoring a 33-ball half-century on his return to ODI cricket after eight months. He got his innings going with a maximum against Asitha Fernando on just the second ball of the Indian innings and clobbered seven fours and three sixes during his stay at the crease. Apart from him, Axar Patel (33 off 57), KL Rahul (31 off 43) and Shivam Dube (25 off 24) played crucial knocks in the middle but failed to take India over the line.
Earlier in the day, Dunith Wellalage scored an unbeaten 67* (65) with the help of seven fours and two sixes and guided Sri Lanka to a score of 230/8 in their allotted 50 overs. He further picked up the wickets of Shubman Gill (16 off 35) and Rohit Sharma. As a result, he was deservedly awarded Player of the Match.
