Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's consecutive batting setbacks during the middle overs against Sri Lanka in the current one-day series. After missing an opportunity to win the first match, which concluded in a tie, India faced another middle-order collapse in the second match, losing by 32 runs. Chasing a target of 241, India was in a comfortable position at 97 for one in 14 overs, thanks to Rohit's 64 off 44 balls. However, spinner Jeffrey Vandersay (10-0-33-6) performed exceptionally, leaving Indian batsmen in a state of shock and giving Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead before the final match on Wednesday.
"When you lose a game, everything feels painful. It's not just about those 10 overs (of the first powerplay). You need to play consistently, and we didn't manage that today," Rohit commented. "I'm slightly disappointed, but these things are part of the game. You must adapt to the situation. With the left and right combination, we thought it would be easier to rotate the strike. Credit goes to Jeffrey, who took six wickets."
Rohit also acknowledged that the pitch was challenging, particularly for batting against slow bowlers. "The reason I scored 64 is due to my batting style. When I bat like that, there are many risks involved. If you don't succeed, you always feel disappointed," he explained. "I don't want to compromise on my aggressive approach. We know the characteristics of this pitch; it becomes very difficult in the middle overs. You have to try to score as many runs as possible in the powerplay."
"We weren't good enough. I don't want to overanalyze our performance, but there will certainly be discussions about our batting in the middle overs."
