Rohit Sharma takes through his aggressive batting approach in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka seized the series by 2-0 and claimed a series win after 27 years against the world champions.
The India tour of Sri Lanka constituted three T20Is and Three ODIs. Surya Kumar Yadav and company secured the T20I series win against the neighbors by 3-0. However, the Men-in-Blue fell short in the ODI series. With the first ODI match between the nations ending in a draw, the Sri Lankans dominated the other two remaining games. While India lost their second ODI by 32 runs, Sri Lanka conquered the decider by a 110-run win.
“I knew that the runs that will be scored during the powerplay will be critical” : Rohit Sharma
Although India lost the series against the Sri Lankans, the Indian ODI skipper Rohit Sharma attracted eyeballs due to his performance. Rohit Sharma had an aggressive approach batting as an opener. He smashed two half-centuries in the series and a speedy score of 35 in 20 deliveries in the third ODI. Rohit Sharma’s highest score in the series was 64 in 44 balls. The 37-year-old recorded a total of 157 runs, the highest in the series, with a strike rate of 141.44. The Indian skipper gave a promising start to the innings, hitting boundaries carrying most in his shoulders.
Rohit Sharma defined his batting style as simple and straightforward. The skipper wanted to stay a little longer in the crease but got out, attempting a few shots. Therefore, his selection of shots cost him his wicket in the powerplay. After his wicket, the Indian batting line-up stumbled. Rohit Sharma was quoted by ESPNcricinfo saying,
“My personal effort was to ensure that I score as many runs as I could. It was not as if I wanted to throw my wicket away after the powerplay. I wanted to continue the momentum and intent, but I unfortunately got dismissed while trying to play a few shots. My batting plan is pretty simple and straightforward.”
Furthermore, Rohit Sharma emphasized how the runs scored during the powerplay would help India in the chase. The ODI captain was aware of the wickets getting slow after the powerplay. Therefore, he talked about taking chances when only two fielders were outside the ring. Rohit Sharma capitalized on the powerplay, hitting boundaries and putting pressure on the bowler. According to him, the runs scored during the first ten overs benefit the team in the remaining overs. He said,
“I knew that the runs that will be scored during the powerplay will be critical. I knew that the wickets will get a little slow after that, the ball will turn a bit and even the field is spread out. When there are only two fielders outside the ring, we had to take our chances. I took those chances whenever I felt that I could put the bowler under pressure. All the runs that you score over and above that, it benefits the team to play the remaining 40 overs”
Rohit Sharma also praised the Sri Lankan batters. The Indian skipper pointed out the difference in why the neighbors were better than India during the batting. Rohit Sharma concluded that the Sri Lankans didn’t use their feet as much as Indian batters did. In addition, he said that the Sri Lankans relied more on sweeps. He said,