Following his side’s thumping 317-run win over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI, India skipper Rohit Sharma heaped praises on pacer, Mohammed Siraj, calling him a “rare talent. A destructive powerplay spell from Mohammed Siraj continued Sri Lanka’s downfall for the third straight ODI, helping the hosts clinch a massive 317-run win in the final ODI at Kerala on Sunday.
“It was a great series for us. Lots of positives. We bowled well, got wickets when we needed and the batters throughout the series piling on the runs was good to watch. Good to see how he (Siraj) was bowling and he deserved all those slips. He is a rare talent, the way he has come up over the last few years is good to see. He has come from strength to strength and that is really good for Indian cricket,” said Rohit in a post-match presentation.
“We tried all sort of things (to get Siraj’s fifer) but it did not happen unfortunately. But the four wickets are all his and fifers will come. He has a few tricks up his sleeves which he is working on and it is there to see. We will get to the drawing board quickly (for the next series) and see how the pitch is, then decide how the combinations will be. They (NZ) are coming off a series win in Pakistan, so it would not be an easy task at all,” concluded Rohit.
With this win, India has clinched the series 3-0. They have also recorded the biggest win in terms of runs in the history of ODI cricket and are the first team ever to register a win by a margin of 300 runs or more. Electing to bat first, India got off to a wonderful start, with skipper Rohit Sharma (42) having an opening stand of 95 runs with Shubman Gill. Later, Gill teamed with Virat Kohli to stitch a 131- run second wicket stand and brought up his second ODI ton, before being dismissed for 116 off 97 balls. Virat took Lankan bowlers to the attack, smashing an unbeaten 166 off 110 balls, consisting of 12 fours and eight sixes. For SL, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara picked two wickets each while Chamika Karunaratne got one scalp.