Indore: Indian spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav leaked runs initially during the Sri Lankan chase but stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma had faith in the duo in the second T20I on Friday.
Riding on a jaw-dropping hundred from Sharma and am powerful 89 from KL Rahul, India won the match by 88 runs and also took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Although both Chahal and Kuldeep were taken to the cleaners by Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera, the youngsters bounced back in grand fashion and took seven wickets among them to end the Sri Lankan innings on 172. Chahal (4/52) also became the first player to take three four-fors in T20Is.
“They have been doing well for India and always they bring us back,” said Rohit.
“I don’t mind such games where they are put under pressure, they were ready to take the pressure and Kuldeep changed the game and Chahal has been doing well for some time now. So I always had belief on them.”
While speaking on his own batting, Rohit, who equalled the record for the fastest T20I hundred said, “The stage was set, good conditions to bat. I was trying to do what I do, hit through the line. It came off really well. I went out there and had some fun.”
Such an aggressive innings coming from someone like Rohit Sharma wasn’t at all surprising, given the form he is. Recently, he scored his third double hundred against the same opposition in the ODI series.
When asked to whether he had a double hundred in mind while batting in Indore, Rohit said, “That’s too much to ask (a double-hundred). I was just trying to get as much runs as possible. Any target here is not defendable here.”
The 30-year-old further added, “There is a template to my batting, which I follow. Try to hold my shape.”
He also showered praise on opening partner KL Rahul when he said, “KL is in great form. He was exceptional today. It was pleasing to watch him play from the other end.”
Kuldeep, who ended up with figures of 3/52 said that he always looked to take wickets during the Sri Lankan chase.
“I was thinking for wickets. If I get one, I’ll probably get the second.
“The wicket was very good to bat on, so I was trying to bowl wider and different angles. Later, I realised if I bowl slower, I’ll get wickets,” said the chinaman bowler.
But Sri Lankan skipper Thisara Perera was expectedly, a disappointed man at the end of the match. Although there was a brief fightback from Tharanga and Kushal, the target was too big to overhaul as they conceded the game by 88 runs.
“It’s a tough series. It was too much to chase. Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera gave us momentum but unfortunately we couldn’t execute our plans,” said Perera.
When asked about Angelo Mathews’ injury, he said, “Mathews, I think is now out of the series with a hamstring injury. It is most unfortunate as he is our main middle order batsman.”