The Indian skipper felt that his side were 10-12 runs short. He also defended the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the death and said that the team will continue to experiment in the hopes of finding the right balance for the T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma leaves the field at the end of the Asia Cup match between India and Sri Lanka. Pic/ AFP
Following his side's second straight loss in the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 against Sri Lanka, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that the batters failed to capitalise on momentum obtained during the middle overs and finish the game on a good note.
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Half-centuries by openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis helped Sri Lanka clinch a six-wicket win in a thrilling Super Four clash against India at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 on Tuesday.
"We did not bat and score runs in the first six overs the way we wanted. But we got momentum after that. But we failed to capitalise on it and finish the game. I think we were 10-12 runs short, but 175 runs are defendable too. The way spinners bowled, they gave us hope and brought us into the match again. But we could not close the match the way we wanted to," said Rohit in a post-match press conference.
Questioned on Bhuvneshwar Kumar's disappointing performances in death overs in two straight games, Rohit said that the team is not worried about it. "Even experienced bowlers go for runs. Bhuvi has been playing for us for so many years and has won us so many matches in death overs," he added.
The skipper said that this present team is 90-95 per cent team set to play T20 World Cup in Australia and few changes will occur later.
"We wanted to try out certain things. Before Asia Cup, we had four seamers, two spinners and one of them being an all-rounder. I always wanted to try and find out what happens when you play three seamers and two spinners and one seamer is an all-rounder. When you play with quality, you want to challenge yourself. The fourth seamer was not available, as he was sick," he said.
"There are a lot of questions that we need to answer, we have answers for some while playing in the last 3-4 series. Somewhere sometime, we will draw a line and say "yes that this combination needs to play."
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"We will try out more players in Australia and South Africa series till T20 World Cup squad is announced." We have the sixth bowling option but we want to try the combination of the fifth bowler. When we go to World Cup then we would like to go with six bowlers. We have played a lot of matches with six bowlers," he concluded.
Rohit said that presently nothing is lacking in the team but it becomes challenging to play in big tournaments since more opponents play against them with different plans. The skipper said that the start Sri Lanka got was brilliant and changed the game.
Rohit said that the side does not take any opposition lightly. "You have to play your best cricket to win against them. I do not really believe in favourites or underdogs. If you see the way Sri Lanka played in their last match, they do have quality in their team," he added.
He rubbished the talks of bowlers being demoralised and said that they are confident. On the atmosphere in the dressing room, he said, "When you lose a lot of questions are raised. All the boys are relaxed or chilled. We have created the atmosphere of dressing in a way that it remains the same whether it is a win or a loss. We would not judge players due to a win or loss. They have capability, that is why they are here."
With this win, Sri Lanka are now a step closer to reaching the finals. On the other hand, India can sneak into the final by a miracle and their chances are now dependent on permutation and combinations that emerge from the matches of other teams.
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