The veteran off-spinner of the Indian team, Ravichandran Ashwin, has praised their opening batter and the captain of the Blue Brigade, Rohit Sharma, despite their 2-0 series defeat in the recent three-match One-day series in Sri Lanka, who registered their first series win over the blue brigade after 27 years.
Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India failed to chase down 231 runs in the opening game at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. They were at a very strong position of being 75/0 in the 13th over during the chase before their middle order of the batting department crumbled, and they fell short of the target.
In the second and third games, the same story continued. The lower order of the visiting team and the home side was the biggest difference, as India’s middle order could hardly score runs in the second innings against the quality spin of the Sri Lanka bowlers.
“No Fear, Rohit Sharma means”- Ravichandran Ashwin
The off-spinner of the Blue Brigade, Ravichandran Ashwin, hailed Rohit Sharma for his excellent batting throughout the whole series, as he was the best batter on both sides. The best thing Rohit did for all three games was not being defended in his mindset and looked to go the big shots regularly.
Also Read: “Shubman Gill For Me Is”- Former Indian Coach Drops Bombshell On Opener’s Future
In the very first game, the Nagpur-born smashed 58 runs in 47 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and three over-boundaries at a strike rate of over 120, while he celebrated his personal fifty inside the first ten overs of the innings.
During the second game of the series, the 37-year-old nailed 64 runs in 44 deliveries, with the help of five boundaries and four over boundaries at a strike rate of 145.45. That was the second consecutive time he achieved the fifty in the first ten overs of the chase.
Apart from Rohit Sharma’s 64 runs, none of the Indian batters could enjoy their time in the middle, as the rest could add only 142 runs in the rest of the game. At one point, the two-time champions were 97/0 in the 14th over but were folded up for just 208 runs in the end to lose the game by 32 runs.
The same template continued in the final game of the series. Sri Lanka asked India to chase down 249 runs, but the tourists managed only 138 and went on to face defeat by 110 runs. In the same game, Rohit Sharma notched up 35 runs in 20 balls, with the help of six boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 175.
Ashwin has praised the Indian opening batter for such aggression at the start, as he feels the experienced campaigner was par excellence at this point.
“One thing that stood up for me in the Sri Lanka series was Rohit Sharma’s batting once again. No matter what is happening, no fear, Rohit means I am going to hit. As a batter, Rohit is par excellence at this point of time.” The Tamil Nadu-born all-rounder expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube Channel.
Also Read: “Virat Kohli Is Not In Practice”- Former Pakistan Player Makes Shocking Statement
The former T20I player of the team finished as the top run-getter of the series, with 157 runs in three innings, at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44. The next best Indian on that list was Axar Patel, who collected 79 runs in three innings, and that shows how poor their batters were.
With a couple of home Test series awaiting, all of them will be looking to make developments in that game against spin.