'We weren’t good enough - Rohit Sharma calls for more consistency from batters after going down in second ODI

India captain Rohit Sharma called for better batting performances after they failed to get the job done in the first ODI of the series against Sri Lanka. In the second match, they suffered a 32-run defeat, which further infuriated Rohit as he revealed that there will be talks about the middle-order batting, which flopped in back-to-back games. 

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who were fantastic in the ODI World Cup, struggled to get going in the series, which may even jeopardize their spot in the playing XI, given that Rishabh Pant and Riyan Parag are waiting in the wings. After the defeat, Rohit stated that their performance wasn’t good enough and asked his teammates to be more consistent.

Also Read - WATCH: Rohit Sharma charges at Washington Sundar with a punch, hilarious moment goes viral

“When you lose a game, everything hurts. It’s not just about those 10 overs (when India lost six wickets for 50 runs). You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that. Little disappointed but these things happen. We weren’t good enough. Don’t want to look too much into how we played. But there’ll be talks about our batting in the middle overs,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 240 runs on the board. India started strongly as Rohit and Shubman Gill stitched a partnership of 97 runs. Rohit particularly hit a half-century, his second in the series, as India were cruising towards a win. However, after Gill’s dismissal, things changed drastically as India lost three wickets in a span of seven runs. 

Also Read - Twitter Reactions: Lower middle-order, Vandersay star in dazzling Sri Lanka win against India in 2nd ODI

Axar Patel was promoted to bat at number five, who held one end but there was no support from the other end. Iyer and Rahul were guests on the crease while the lower middle order showed grit but it wasn’t good enough. Sundar and Kuldeep played a total of 67 deliveries and scored just 22 runs and that shows how good Sri Lankan bowlers were and that the visitors were under tremendous pressure. Notably, spinner Jeffrey Vandersay had an unforgettable outing, as he managed to pick up six wickets in the match.