"We had to scrap and build an innings under pressure" - Rohit Sharma reacts after India wrap up ODI series against Sri Lanka

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma stated that they had to grind hard to win the second ODI against Sri Lanka by four wickets at Eden Gardens on Thursday, January 12. With the win, the hosts have wrapped up the three-match series with one match still remaining.

Indian top-order batters failed to make the most of the opportunity after the bowlers did an exceptional job of restricting the visitors to 215 runs. The Men in Blue were restricted to 86/4, with Sri Lanka threatening to take the game away.

But KL Rahul (64*) held the innings from one end and stitched useful partnerships with Shreyas Iyer (28), Hardik Pandya (36), and Axar Patel (21) to take India home.

A victory by 4️⃣ wickets for #TeamIndia in the second #INDvSL ODI here in Kolkata and the series is sealed 2️⃣-0️⃣ 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDvSL-2023-2N… @mastercardindia https://t.co/f8HvDZRJIY

Rohit asserted that games like these are a learning curve for the players. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the Indian skipper said:

"I thought it was a close game but having games like these teach you a lot. We had to scrap and build an innings under pressure. It's something that we've been speaking about for a while now."

"KL has been batting at 5 for a long time now," he added. "It gives us the depth with experienced batters batting at 5 and 6. It gives us the confidence to bat freely at the top of the order as well. Both of them (KL and Hardik) have got a lot of experience of batting under pressure."

India chased down the target in 43.2 overs to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series.

"He brought us back into the game" - Rohit Sharma lauds Kuldeep Yadav

Rohit Sharma was all praise for leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who once again produced a player-of-the-match performance.

Kuldeep, who came into the side in place of the injured Yuzvendra Chahal, broke Sri Lanka's backbone, returning with figures of 3/51 in his 10 overs.

For his impressive performance with the ball, @imkuldeep18 gets the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia register a 4⃣-wicket victory in the second #INDvSL ODI 👏👏

Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDvSL-2023-2N…
@mastercardindia https://t.co/jrSGU8JrB7

Lauding the Delhi Capitals (DC) spinner, the Indian captain said Kuldeep's confident display is a boost for the side.

"For him to come back and play the game he played today was fantastic," he said. "He brought us back into the game. Kusal and Fernando were batting really well and Kuldeep as we've seen so often found his way through. He's a very confident bowler right now and it definitely augurs well for the team."

With the series done and dusted, India will look to test their bench strength in the third ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, January 15.

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