As India’s captain Rohit Sharma led his team to a crucial Super 4 clash against Dasun Shanaka’s Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023, he emphasized the importance of such high-pressure matches, especially with the ODI World Cup 2023 on the horizon. Rohit acknowledged that these games test various aspects of their cricketing abilities.
In this fixture, India won the toss and chose to bat, with Rohit and Shubman Gill providing a strong opening partnership. Rohit played a pivotal role by scoring an impressive 53 off 48 balls, featuring seven fours and two sixes. Contributions from KL Rahul (39), Ishan Kishan (33), and Axar Patel (26) helped India post a total of 213 runs.
All ten Sri Lankan wickets in their innings fell to spin bowlers. Dunith Wellalage took a five-wicket haul, Charith Asalanka claimed four wickets, and Maheesh Theekshana secured one. In pursuit of the target, Sri Lanka’s top order struggled, with Wellalage (42) and Dhananjaya de Silva (41) being the only resistance. However, they couldn’t guide their team to victory as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172 in 41.3 overs. Kuldeep Yadav starred for India, taking four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja took two each, and Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya claimed one wicket each.
With this commanding 41-run win, Rohit’s captaincy has propelled India into the Asia Cup 2023 final with four valuable points. The final, scheduled for Sunday, will see them face either Pakistan or Sri Lanka, depending on the outcome of their Super Four clash.
Rohit Sharma Expresses Satisfaction with the Intensity of the Match
After the game, Rohit expressed his satisfaction with the challenging and high-pressure nature of the match. He emphasized the team’s eagerness to embrace such challenges on demanding pitches to better assess their strengths and weaknesses.
“It was a good game. For us also to play a game like that under pressure on a slightly challenging pitch. Challenging in a lot of aspects. Definitely looking to play on pitches like this to see what we can achieve, we might as well come here and play on pitches like these,” Rohit stated.
Rohit Sharma Commends Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav
Discussing Hardik Pandya’s bowling, Rohit lauded the all-rounder’s dedication and hard work in improving his bowling skills over the past few years. He also praised Kuldeep Yadav for his remarkable performance and commitment as a bowler.
“He’s (Hardik) worked hard on his bowling over the last couple of years, and it’s pleasing to see how he bowled that spell. Not an easy target to defend. The pitch got slightly better towards the end, so we had to hold our nerve and bowl consistently,” Rohit said.
“(Kuldeep) Again for the past year or so, bowling well. He’s worked hard on his rhythm, and you can see the results in the last 15 ODIs he’s played. He gives us a lot of options. So going forward, it’s a pretty good sign,” concluded the Nagpur-born captain.
