"We got challenged, and it was good" - Rohit Sharma opens up after narrow win vs Sri Lanka in Super 4 of Asia Cup 2023
Team India captain Rohit Sharma was happy with his side's performance on a challenging Colombo wicket in Tuesday's Super Four clash at the Asia Cup 2023.
The Men in Blue were challenged in every aspect by the co-hosts. After an 80-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma (53) and Shubman Gill (19), the Men in Blue were bundled out for 213. Dunith Wellalage was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up five wickets, while part-time off-spinner Charith Asalanka scalped four.
In response, Sri Lanka were cruising, with Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva dishing out a key partnership. However, India bounced back in time to secure a crucial 41-run win to advance to the Asia Cup 2023 final.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit stressed that the team want to play more games on tricky wickets.
"Was a good game," Rohit Sharma said. "For us also to play a game like that on a challenging pitch. We got challenged, and it was good. It was a challenging pitch, and we want to play more on these kinds of surfaces."
The Indian captain also spoke highly of his bowlers, saying that they did quite well to defend the target:
"Was not an easy target to defend, as the pitch got easier at the end, and we had to put it consistently in one area, and, I think, we did quite well," Rohit added.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja scalped two apiece. Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya shared the remaining two wickets to cap off a complete bowling performance.
"He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm" - Rohit Sharma on Kuldeep Yadav
Team India's premier spinner Kuldeep Yadav has had a superlative Asia Cup 2023 campaign. He picked up a five-wicket haul in the last game against arch-rivals Pakistan and followed with four wickets against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma lavished praise on the left-arm wrist-spinner, saying that he has worked extensively on his bowling, evidenced by his recent performances:
"For the past year or so bowling really really well," Rohit added. "He has done a lot of hard work on his rhythm. He went back to the drawing board and worked on it. The ball is coming out nicely and you can see the results in the last 10 ODIs."
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