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For Sehwag, team win is more important
India's stand-in captain said individual form did not matter if the team was winning.
A big score may have eluded the blade of Virender Sehwag but India's stand-in captain on Wednesday said individual form did not matter if the team was winning.
"Team winning is more important. You saw Yuvraj Singh getting among runs ... The individual batsman's form should not be a worry," said Sehwag, who led India to a victory for the second time as the skipper on Wednesday.
Leading the side in the absence of Rahul Dravid, the Delhi batsman once again failed to convert a strong start even as India thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the sixth cricket one-day international for a 5-1 lead in the seven-match series.
The swashbuckling batsman said the team's fortunes remained his sole concern since it won't be too long before he got a big score.
It was the second occasion when Sehwag was leading the side, having earlier stood for Sourav Ganguly in the TVS Cup tri-series against Bangladesh in Dhaka when India won by four wickets.
Sehwag, promoted from vice-captaincy, said he did not feel any pressure while leading the side.
"If you are used to captaincy, it would not be a problem. When you are suddenly made a captain, then it could be difficult. It is at the start that things are difficult," he said.
The Delhi batsman said he chose to field based on the venue's past record which was in favour of teams batting second.
Losing captain Marvan Atapattu felt a score of around 220 would have been challenging since the track was on the slower side.
"Having gone through the history (of the pitch), more teams have won chasing. But I doubt if it was the same (track conditions) today. With two spinners, 230 would have been a winning target," he said.
The visiting skipper said Sri Lanka too may follow in the Indian footsteps of blooding youngsters into the team.
"It should be sooner rather than later when the selectors will be experimenting with the youngsters," he said.
He acknowledged that the batsmen had failed to come to the party.
"Inconsistency has been the reason (for the team's poor show this series). We are not short of good batsmen, we have played on good tracks as well," he said.
Rudra Pratap Singh, who picked four for 35, said "it is a huge motivating factor to be named man of the match in my third match."
"I played just one match in Zimbabwe but the conditions there were helpful for swing and bounce," he added.
