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Following his side's four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI, India skipper Rohit Sharma lauded spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his performance and the way he brought back his side into the game, saying that the bowler's confidence augurs' well for the team.
KL Rahul scored an unbeaten half-century in his 50th ODI to help India claim a four-wicket victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. "It was a close game but games like these teach you a lot. We had to build an innings under pressure. KL has been batting at five for a long period of time now and it gives us the depth. Gives you the confidence as well at the top of the order for us to go and bat freely. It was a good display of batsmanship," said Rohit on KL and the team's batting performance. The skipper said that it would be nice if Team India has a left-handed specialist batter, but there is still quality in the right hands who can "tackle situations when put under pressure". On changes for the final ODI, Rohit said, "We have not thought about it yet, once we get there we will have a look at the pitch and have a look at some of our guys. There are 3 ODIs coming up against New Zealand as well, so we need to keep the guys fresh. We have got a long season now and we need to keep everything in mind. If needed, we will make some changes." "For him (Kuldeep Yadav) to come back and play the game he played today, it was fantastic. Literally got us back in the game. They were batting run-a-ball and Kuldeep, as we have seen quite often, comes and gets the wicket. He's quite confident as a bowler right now and it definitely augurs well with the team," concluded Rohit. Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka was bundled out for 215 after electing to bat first. Debutant Nuwanidu Fernando impressed, scoring a fine knock of 50 off 63 balls. Kusal Mendis (34) and Dunith Wellalage (32) also played some solid knocks for the visitors, but not really enough to get them to a powerful total. Kuldeep Yadav was impressive, taking 3/51 in his 10 overs. Mohammed Siraj took 3/30, while Umran Malik ended with figures of 2/48. Axar Patel also took a wicket. Chasing 216, India was struggling at 86/4, but a 75-run stand between KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya (36 off 53 balls) pulled back India into the game. Axar Patel (21) and Shreyas Iyer (28) played some valuable knocks as well. Rahul guided India to a four-wicket win, finishing at an unbeaten 64 off 103 balls with six fours. India finished at 219/6, with 40 balls to spare. Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne took two wickets while Dhananjaya de Silva took a wicket. India has won the series 2-0, with one match to spare. Kuldeep Yadav was adjudged as 'Man of the Match' for his fine bowling spell. Brief Scores: India 219/6 (KL Rahul 64*, Hardik Pandya 36; Chamika Karunaratne 2-51) vs Sri Lanka 215/10 (Nuwanidu Fernando 50, Kusal Mendis 34; Kuldeep Yadav 3-51) (ANI)
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