Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday hailed his team for an emphatic performance in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, saying the effort will be “cherished for a very long time”.
Mohammed Siraj bowled one of the most devastating spells by an Indian fast bowler, taking six for 21, as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 50. The visitors knocked off the runs in 6.1 overs without losing any wicket.
“It was a great performance, especially to come and play like that in a final. Shows the mentality of the team. Very clinical. A performance like that will be cherished for a very long time,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
However the skipper was astonished to see the kind of movement that his bowlers, especially Siraj, got off the surface.
“Our seamers are actually working really hard for many years, so it’s pleasing for the side to see them get rewarded like that. I never thought the ball was going to be doing that much,” the skipper said.
The conditions must have been helpful but it also takes high level of skill to put up a performance like that in a summit clash.
“Again, it comes back to the skill-set of individuals. That’s very rare, you don’t see many guys (like Siraj), who can move it in the air and off the pitch. And the other guys also who took part at various stages, they all played their part.”
With three match series against Australia and two more warm-up games before the World Cup opener, Rohit feels that the team is moving in the right direction.
“We took all we can from this series, quite pleasing to move in this direction with this kind of confidence.”
Having ticked most boxes that they wanted to tick, Rohit looked back at the team’s run over the past couple of weeks.
“The first game against Pakistan under pressure, four down, how Hardik (Pandya) and (Ishan) Kishan batted in that pressure got us to that total. And then KL and Virat getting that hundred was brilliant to see.”
“Also Gill, he’s in terrific form, he’s a batting freak. He likes to keep batting and it’s something that works for our team. A lot of the guys at various stages bailed the team out in pressure situations,” the skipper added.
shreyas 99% fit
India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday said left-arm spinner Axar Patel is likely to miss the first two ODIs against Australia next week while middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is “99 percent” match-fit.
Axar had suffered a left quadriceps strain during the inconsequential Super 4 match against Bangladesh on Friday and was ruled out of the Asia Cup. Washington Sundar was drafted in as Axar’s replacement in India’s Asia Cup squad.
“Axar had a small tear. It looks like maybe it will take a week or 10 days (to heal), I don’t know. We have to see how that injury progresses. Some guys recover quickly, and I hope that’s the case with him,” skipper Rohit didn’t seem too confident about the speed of recovery for the Gujarat all-rounder.
“I am not sure whether he will be able to play the first two games against Australia at home. But we will wait and see,” said Rohit, who didn’t want to fully commit.
Iyer had suffered back spasm ahead of India’s Super 4 game against Pakistan, and since then he did not take part in the Asia Cup.
Rohit said Shreyas did not tick off certain parameters set for him, hence he was not included in the playing 11 for the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka.
“Shreyas was not available for this game because certain parameters were kept for him to tick off. I think today, he completed most of it. I should say he is alright 99 percent as of now.”
“But he looks good, he batted and fielded for long hours, and he was on the ground long before we came to the ground. I don’t think it is a worry for us,” said Rohit.
Even though Washington was included in the India squad as replacement for Axar, Rohit said even veteran spinner R Ashwin is very much within the India’s scheme of things as a spin bowling all-rounder.
“As a spinner-all-rounder, Ashwin is in the line. I have been talking to him on the phone. The injury happened to Axar at the last minute. Washington was available, so he had to come and perform the role for us,” said Rohit. “He (Washington) was cricket-fit because he was part of the Asian Games camp (in Bengaluru). I have been very clear with players about their roles. Everyone is in the loop,” he added.