Rohit impressed with middle-order show

Dharamsala: India skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday heaped praise on the team’s batters, saying it was pleasing to see the middle-order shouldering the responsibility after the early dismissals of openers.

”I think it was pleasing to see for us the middle order coming out and performing. It is good to see those guys taking the responsibility and finishing off games. To finish the way they did was really good,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation after India defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20 here.

After the early dismissals of Rohit and Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer hit a whirlwind unbeaten 74 as India registered the comfortable win to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Besides Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja blasted 45 off 18 balls as India chased down the target of 184 with 17 deliveries to spare and register their 11th straight win in the format. Sanju Samson also contributed 39 off 25 balls.

The Indian bowlers leaked runs in the last five overs but Rohit refused to put the blame on his bowling unit. ”I don’t want to be too harsh on the bowlers. It can happen these days, but we restricted them (Sri Lanka) in the first 15 overs. It was a good pitch to bat on as well,” he said. Rohit also praised Jadeja and man-of-the-match Iyer for their batting performances. ”Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) came and looked positive from ball one and Shreyas as well,” he added.

Losing skipper Dasun Shanaka said that his team started well but rued their under-performance in the powerplay overs — both with bat and ball.

”We started really well, but we should’ve done more in the powerplay. If we got another wicket in powerplay, it could’ve been better for us. ”Lahiru must bowl at the first six overs. The game was set for me, the wicket was good and the ball was there for me. See another series lost, but if we get a win out of here it will be a positive,” he said.

By his own admission, Iyer was mighty impressed with his own batting performance. ”That (back and across) is my go-to movement and I feel my body releases and I sight the ball well. It was really important for me to time the ball because it was swinging and seaming,” he said.

He praised Samson and Jadeja for giving him support during the chase. ”Sanju came in and we built a crucial partnership. Jaddu bhai came in and it was a cruise. I realized that the ball was not turning and thought stepping out would be a good option. Even if I mistime it on this ground, the ball would go to the boundary.” The third and final T20 will be played here on Sunday.