"They played better than us" Rohit Sharma after India's shocking 2-0 ODI series defeat vs Sri Lanka

Indian captain Rohit Sharma scored most runs in the three-match ODI series.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma accepted that the Sri Lanka cricket team outperformed his side in the three-match ODI series, which the hosts won 2-0 in Colombo.

India suffered a crushing defeat in the third ODI by 110 runs and consequently lost their first ODI series to Sri Lanka since 1997.

After being asked to field first, the Indian bowlers staged a comeback after the Sri Lankan top-order batters gave their side a formidable start. Sri Lanka were 171/1, but were restricted to 248. Debutant Riyan Parag had a brilliant game with the ball. The youngster bagged three wickets in his nine-over spell.

While chasing, the Indian batters didn’t have any answers to the Sri Lankan spin bowling attack on a tricky Colombo pitch. Skipper Rohit Sharma (35) and all-rounder Washington Sundar (30) were the top two scorers for India.

The day belonged to left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, who bagged five wickets and delivered a match-winning spell. Wellalage spell helped the hosts bowl India out for 138 runs in 26.1 overs and win the match by 110 runs. With this victory, Sri Lanka won the three-match ODI series 2-0.

I don’t think it is a concern: Rohit Sharma on Indian batters’ spin problems in this series

The Indian batters struggled throughout the ODI series against the Sri Lankan spin bowling attack. In the three games, the Men in Blue lost 27 wickets to spinners, which is the most by any team in a bilateral ODI series (maximum 3 matches).

In the third ODI, India lost nine wickets to Sri Lanka’s spinners. During the post-match presentation, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was asked about his batters facing problems while playing spinners. 

The Indian skipper said that he isn’t too worried about it. Rohit further accepted that Sri Lanka played better cricket than India.

“I don’t think it is a concern (spin problems). But it is something we have to look at individually and as a gameplan. It is a joke, when you are playing for India there is never going to be complacency. When I am captain there is no chance of that. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us. We looked at the conditions and went with the combinations, there are also guys who need to be looked at and hence the changes,” Rohit Sharma said.

It is about how you come back after the loss: Rohit

Rohit added that his players would take the learnings from this series loss and prepare better for the next time they encounter similar conditions.

“There are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives from this series because we need to be better prepared when we come across such conditions next time. These things happen, series loss is not the end of the world, you will lose an odd series here and there but it is about how you come back after the loss,” Sharma added.

Rohit finished with most runs in the SL vs IND three-match ODI series. The veteran opener scored 157 runs at an impressive average of 52.33, including two half-centuries. He scored at a strike rate of 144.

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