Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: India searching for answers ahead of World Cup – Rohit | India captain Rohit Sharma speaks after defeat to Sri Lanka in Asia Cup
India’s shock defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 tie has led to skipper Rohit Sharma admitting that the side is still searching for some answers.
The Lankans, led by Dasun Shanaka, completed a clinical 174-run chase as India succumbed to consecutive losses in the tournament. Rohit reflected upon the team combination in the post-match press conference.
He refused to press the panic button and highlighted their terrific record in T20Is since last year’s T20 World Cup. However, the captain expressed that the management now has a fair idea of the side’s standing whilst playing with only five frontline bowlers.
“I was happy with three seamers. Unfortunately, Avesh hasn’t turned up well in the fitness tests. He didn’t respond well because he was quite sick. Ideally, the combination we would play is four seamers, but three seamers was something we wanted to try before the World Cup,” the 35-year-old was quoted in a report by Firstpost.
He added, “We need to find answers as a team, like where we are with five bowlers. We know now where we stand with this combination.”
India did not capitalise on first 10 overs – Rohit Sharma
The Indian innings faltered after a fantastic partnership by Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav. The skipper scored 72 runs off 41 deliveries whereas Surya played an ideal foil to him by notching 34 from 29 balls. India’s score stood at 110 runs when the third wicket fell in the 13th over.
However, the middle-order comprising of Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda were unable to maximize the aforementioned start as the team could score only 63 runs in the last 7.4 overs. Rohit attributed this as a major reason behind the team’s defeat in the presentation ceremony.
“We just ended up on the wrong side, as simple as that. We could have capitalised on the first half of our innings. We fell 10-15 runs short. The second half wasn’t good for us. The guys who were out in the middle can learn about what shots can be played. These things can happen. Losses like these will make us understand what works as a team,” the captain explained.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 14 runs in the penultimate over, which left Arshdeep Singh with only eight to defend in the 20th. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, under-fire for his recent insipid outings, fared fairly better as he scalped three wickets for 34 runs in his four overs. Rohit claimed that the duo has been doing their job for a while but he is seeking answers from the younger crop of players.
“Chahal and Bhuvi are the senior pros and have been doing it for a while. I need to get answers from the younger ones. With the ball, it was a good effort to take it to the last over considering the start they had. The spinners bowled aggressively and got wickets in the middle overs, but Sri Lanka held their nerve,” he further added.
India has been on an upward surge in T20Is regardless of the recent couple of defeats. The side has won 22 out of the 28 T20Is that they have played since the previous World T20. It includes series victories against West Indies (twice), Sri Lanka, South Africa and even England. Rohit pointed at that to paint an optimistic picture though India’s chances in the current Asia Cup rests with Afghanistan defeating Pakistan in Wednesday’s encounter.
“No long term worries, we have lost only two games back to back. Since the last World Cup, we haven’t lost too many games. These games will teach us. We wanted to put ourselves under pressure in the Asia Cup. We are still looking for answers,” the skipper signed off.
