There will be talks about our middle-order: Rohit after India's collapse

On August 4 (Sunday), for the second time in two ODIs, the Indian middle order failed to get through the Sri Lankan spin unit, leaving skipper Rohit Sharma visibly displeased in the second ODI in Colombo. 

Rohit, who raced away to his consecutive fifty in just 29 balls but got out while going for a reverse sweep during the chase of 240, pointed out that the Indian middle order hasn't lived up to the expectations. 

“When you lose a game, everything hurts. We weren't good enough. Don't want to look too much into how we played. But there'll be talks about our batting in the middle overs,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation. 

While chasing 231 in the first game, Rohit had slammed a fifty and given India a good start. Yet the lower-middle order collapsed uncharacteristically, going from 189/5 to 230 all-out. Today, it was no different as Indian batting capitulated from 97/0 to 147/6 with the team eventually bowled out for 208, losing the match by 32 runs. 

Asked whether it was the 10 overs of Jeffrey Vandersay that made all the difference as the Lankna spinner took a six-wicket haul, the Indian captain denied. 

“It's not just about those 10 overs. You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that today. Little disappointed but these things happen. You have to adapt to what's in front of you,” added Rohit. 

Axar Patel and Washington Sundar tried to revive the Indian fortunes with a 38-run seventh-wicket stand, but Charith Asalanka, the Sri Lankan skipper, again became the game-changer, removing both Indian batters in a space of five runs. 

Rohit credited Vandersay for his amazing spell. “With left-right, we felt it'll be easier to rotate strike. Credit to Jeffrey, he got six wickets,” he said. 

“When I am batting like that, there's a lot of risks taken. If you don't cross the line, you always feel disappointed. I don't want to compromise on my intent. We understand the nature of this surface, it gets tough in the middle overs. You have to try to get as many as possible in the powerplay.”

Both the teams will be up against in the series decider on August 7 (Wednesday) at the same venue.

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