Colombo, Sep 17 : India captain Rohit Sharma lauded his fast-bowlers for setting up the side’s eighth Asia Cup title with a 10-wicket thrashing of Sri Lanka, saying a performance like the one seen in Sunday’s title clash will be cherished for a very long time.
Mohammed Siraj blew away the Sri Lankan batters with a career-best spell of 6-21, while Hardik Pandya took three wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah had a scalp to his name as the Indian fast-bowlers took all 10 wickets in bowling out Sri Lanka for just 50, their second-lowest ODI total and the least they have scored in the format against India, as well as in the Asia Cup, which India chased in 6.1 overs.
“It was a great performance, especially to come and play like that in a final. Shows the mentality of the team. Our seamers are actually working really hard for many years, so it’s pleasing for the side to see them rewarded like that. Very clinical. A performance like that will be cherished for a very long time.”
“I never thought the ball was going to be doing that much, again it comes back to the skillset of the individuals. That’s very rare (from Siraj), you don’t see many guys who can move it in the air and off the pitch. And the other guys also who took part at various stages, they all played their part,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Rohit also agreed with India ticking a lot of the boxes in their Asia Cup triumph. “We took all we could from this series, it is quite pleasing to move in this direction with this kind of confidence. The first game against Pakistan under pressure 4 down, how Hardik and Kishan batted in that pressure got us to that total.”
“And then K.L. and Virat getting that hundred was brilliant to see. Also Gill, he’s in terrific form, he’s a batting freak. He likes to keep batting and it’s something that works for our team. A lot of the guys at various stages bailed the team out in pressure situations.”
Suresh Raina, the former India cricketer and member of the 2011 ODI World Cup winning side, said on JioCinema’s InsidersLive show, credited Rohit & Co for putting up a convincing performance in the Asia Cup. India’s next assignment is a three-game ODI series against Australia, starting on September 22 in Mohali.
“The Indian team ticked all boxes, be it batting, bowling, fielding or keeping. Almost all batters who got an opportunity played well. Before going to the World Cup, and before playing the India-Australia series which will be on JioCinema, in a week’s time, the players are on top of the world. They just need to go out there, wind up for a bit and spend some time with their families before the series.”
“It will be a different ball game but credit goes to the Indian team and skipper Rohit Sharma for the way they played. The most important thing is that we won the tournament convincingly. In terms of batting, it became clear who the openers will be and who will play in the middle order.”
“The way K.L. Rahul was not even aware that he will play in that match against Pakistan and then (scored) that match-winning century. Ishan and Bumrah played well too and today’s spell from Siraj will be remembered for a lifetime.”
