India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with a four-wicket win in the second match in Kolkata on January 12. Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj and KL Rahul stars in India’s Victory.
Losing Captain, Dasun Shanaka Said:
We were in the game but didn’t have not runs in the game. I think at the start we discussed about 280 but Kuldeep bowled well. We had a chance as the ball was moving. So I told my bowlers to stick to the basics.
Winning Captain, Rohit Sharma said:
It was a close game but games like these teach you a lot. KL has been batting at 5 for a long time now, it gives you that confidence when an experienced batter is batting at 5. It was a good display of batsmanship. In the hindsight, it will be nice to have a left-hander in the top order but guys who are being given the chance have got a lot of runs in the last one year. Ideally, we would like to have a left-hander but we know the quality of our right-handers and are quite comfortable with that at the moment. We will have a look at the pitch for the third ODI, and another ODI series is coming up as well. So we will see if we need to make any changes. Kuldeep just comes and gets the breakthrough, he is quite confident as a bowler at the moment, which augurs well for the team.
Player of the Match, Kuldeep Yadav said:
I am happy with my performance. Since the last one year, I have been trying to back my strength and not think much. Whenever I get my chance, I just think about performing well. I am enjoying my bowling a lot. The team combination matters, so I just try to give my best whenever I get my chance. I bowl the faster in the IPL and T20Is also to give the batter one run. So I just did that here also. I have worked on my batting a lot of late. Same with the fitness. Whenever I get time, I go to the NCA. So thanks to the trainers there. That’s one thing I have tried to do in the last one year. Earlier, I wasn’t much into it. Chahal too gave me inputs about their batters.