"Don't think we were brave enough" - Rohit Sharma reflects on India's first bilateral ODI series loss to Sri Lanka in 27 years
Team India captain Rohit Sharma has admitted that the Men in Blue were not brave enough to take on the Sri Lankan spinners in challenging conditions and paid the price for it with a series loss. He added that India will address the issue and look to improve on their flaws.
Sri Lanka beat India by 110 runs in the third ODI of the three-match series at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, August 7. With the win, the hosts claimed the series 2-0, registering their first bilateral ODI series win over India in 27 years.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Indian captain Rohit conceded that the Men in Blue did not do enough with the bat to put the pressure back on Sri Lanka's slow bowlers, which was crucial on the spinning surfaces.
"On such wickets, you have to try and keep having left-right combinations. At the end of the day, it’s important to take on the game on such pitches, where the ball is spinning and scoring is tough. You need to be a little brave. I don’t think we were brave enough throughout the series to put them under pressure a little bit. We were behind in that aspect," Rohit said.
"But these things happen, so I do not want to look too much into it. We will address the concerns for sure," the 37-year-old went on to add.
While most other Indian batters struggled in the ODI series, Rohit finished as the leading run-getter with 157 runs from three innings at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44.
"If we have to be little different in choosing the personnel, we have to do that" - Rohit Sharma
While elaborating on India's woes against the spinning ball on turning tracks, Rohit admitted that team has faced such issues in the past as well.
He added that the think tank would not hesitate in taking some tough decisions with regards to change in personnel, with the aim to make India a more versatile side.
"We’ve had these issues in the past as well. We’ve had issues with keeping the tempo of the game. It is all about individual plans - how they want to take the bowlers on. We know where the problems are. We have to talk about it and let the players know that this is what we want," the in-form opener said in the same presser.
"If we have to be little different in choosing the personnel, we have to do that, unfortunately. We’ll try and see how we can be a good team on all kind of conditions, not just on good pitches or seaming pitches," he concluded.
After Rohit, Axar Patel (79 runs) was India's leading run-getter in the ODI series. Virat Kohli scored 58 runs in three innings and Shubman Gill 57.