Colombo, Aug 7 (IANS): After a 110-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the third ODI and losing the series 2-0, India captain Rohit Sharma brushed aside suggestions that the visitors were complacent in their approach. After the first ODI was tied, India were outplayed by Sri Lanka in the next two matches to lose a bilateral series to the island nation for the first time since August 1997.
“No, it's a joke. When you're playing for India, there's no complacency. We have to give credit where it is due, Sri Lanka played better than us,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.
What would concern India greatly is the lack of application and judgement in playing against spinners on pitches offering turn and grip. If it was Jeffrey Vandersay’s six-for wrecking India on Sunday, on Wednesday it was Dunith Wellalage’s five-for that left India bamboozled.
India lost a whopping 27 wickets to spin in the series against Sri Lanka – nine of their wickets were taken by the slower bowlers in each game of the 50-over series, which further highlights their weakness in playing against spinners. Rohit admitted it’s something which will be taken seriously by the team in their run-up to next year’s Champions Trophy.
"I don't think it's a concern, but it's something we need to look at seriously, as well as towards our individual game plans. It's something we were definitely put under pressure within this series. We looked at the conditions and wanted to take pace off the ball, and that's why we went with our combination. All in all, we didn't play good cricket through the series, and that is why we stand here.”
Though India had some positives in Rohit consistently giving quick starts with the bat and Washington Sundar plus Riyan Parag vying to be regular all-rounders in the white-ball side, the problem areas outweigh the bright spots.
“Throughout (the series), there were a few positives too. How the spinners bowled, some of the batters in the middle as well. We lost the series, and I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives.”
“We need to go back and look at what we need to do when we come up against conditions like this. Series lost doesn't mean the end of the world. These guys have been playing very well over the past few years, very consistent, you will lose the odd series here and there, but it is about how you come back after the loss," concluded Rohit.