Rohit Sharma knocked us out in Mohali: Sri Lanka batting coach Tilan Samaraweera
Sri Lanka batting coach Tilan Samaraweera also said his bowlers made things difficult with misdirected yorkers during the Indian cricket team innings in Mohali, when Rohit Sharma went after them
After Sri Lanka cricket team’s loss in the second ODI against India in Mohali, its batting coach Tilan Samaraweera said Rohit Sharma’s double ton took the game away. (INDIA vs SRI LANKA 2nd ODI HIGHLIGHTS)
Samaraweera also observed that the way Lankan bowlers used yorkers also ruined things for the visitors. (INDIA vs SRI LANKA 2nd ODI SCORECARD)
“I think the plan was to bowl wide yorkers, but the execution was poor,” said Samaraweera. “Let’s give credit to Rohit. That was a stunning knock. In the end, 390 was too much for us to chase. This one was special as he scored the second hundred off just 36 balls.”
Rohit pummelled Sri Lanka with his stunning knock of 208 runs.
“Rohit scored the double but credit to Dhawan. He maintained the momentum in the innings. I don’t think, we bowled well from 10 to 20 overs. But from 20 to 30 we got our act together. We gave away the momentum too early,” added Samaraweera.
Heaping more praise on the Indian cricket team stand-in captain, the coach said, “He hit 13 sixes today and just beat us. The Indian team was under pressure as we were 1-0 up. It was an outstanding knock considering the circumstances. We didn’t have a backup plan. But for the third game we will come up with counter moves.”
Samaraweera also felt anything in the range of 320-330 could have been chased down on the Mohali track.
“This is no way a 390 pitch. Maybe 320 or 330. I think we gave 50 runs or so too many. We bowled too many full tosses, too many short balls and we didn’t execute the plans well. The second half when they came they bowled the length well. Bit hard to go over the top then,” felt the Lankan coach.
Speaking of Angelo Mathews’ fighting century, the only bright spot for the visitors, Samaraweera said his form augurs well for Lanka.
“He is a quality player. His mindset is the biggest thing,” he added. “Prior to the Test series, I had a long chat with him and tried to tell him to play in a positive mindset. In Dharamsala also he batted well and it seemed to be working. Hopefully we have lot of cricket ahead and he will bounce back strongly”.
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