India v Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI: Player reactions - Virat Kohli, Angelo Mathews and Ambati Rayudu
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka did well to eventually post 274/8 on the board, with Angelo Mathews' rearguard effort – 92* off 101 – helping them recover from tottering at 179-6 in 36 overs at one point of time. India, however, had no problems chasing it down despite losing Ajinkya Rahane early as Ambati Rayudu struck his first One Day International (ODI) century to take his team past the finishing line with 33 balls to spare.
Stand-in captain Virat Kohli, when asked about demoting himself for Rayudu who scored an unbeaten 121 off 118 balls, showered praises on the 29-year-old saying that he deserved this opportunity 12 years back for all the talent he has as a batsman.
He said: “Rayudu is a great player, he's been around for a while. It's all about giving him that opportunity to bat at No. 3. I just told him today that whatever you are doing now is what you deserved 12 years back. We are treating every game as a last game of the series. That's the kind of mindset we are looking to develop. Well, just had a get-together with the boys and had a lot of fun(when asked how he celebrated his birthday). Thanks everyone for all the wishes.”
On what surprise he has in store for the next match, following a series of unpredictable moves be it promoting Suresh Raina or taking an early Powerplay, the 26-year-old said: I can't disclose the plans for the next few games (smiles, when asked if he'll take the No. 4 slot on a permanent basis). We are treating every game as the last game of the series. That's the kind of culture we're building in this team. It's just about giving the guys the belief that they can do well. We are just focussing to keep the guys happy and it's working well for us.
Well said by @ImVkohli about Rayudu. This is the chance you should have got 12 years ago.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 6, 2014
Virat Kohli spoke with more clarity and erudition today than Azhar did across all his 90 ODI wins in total. #BoysPlayedWell #IndvsSL
— Aashish (@c_aashish) November 6, 2014
Embarrassing performance – Angelo Mathews
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews termed the no-show for the second consecutive time as an “embarrassing” performance. He said: “Yeah, we were about 40-50 runs short. On this wicket, 275 was not enough and it makes a lot of difference. We lost crucial wickets and that put us on the back foot.
“These wickets are quite good for the top-four batsmen, we'll try and better it. It's an embarrassing performance today. It's never easy to contend a batting line-up like India. We've got to pull out our best to try and see if we can beat India, because it's embarrassing to lose this way and we were a no match today.”
Will bat wherever Kohli wants me to bat – Rayudu
Rayudu, who was declared as the Man-of-the-Match, thanked MS Dhoni and Kohli for supporting him all the way. He said: “It's special, it's been a long wait. Definitely want to dedicate it to my father. The confidence given to me by the coach, Virat and Dhoni bhai has been great and I am glad that I did well today. I was not actually looking to score a hundred, I just wanted to bat throughout. It's left to the captain, I'll stand behind whatever he thinks(when asked if he'll continue to bat at No. 3).”
Note: Post-match quotes, courtesy Cricbuzz.