Rohit hundred enough this time
Rohit Sharma hit his second century in successive matches to secure India a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their a tri-series match here on Sunday.
Rohit’s first century was against Zimbabwe on Friday in a match which the home side won by six wickets. But his 101 not out here on Sunday ensured victory the Lankans.
Sent in to bat by India captain Suresh Raina, Sri Lanka struggled against the inexperienced Indians to reach 242 in 49.5 overs.
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his target was all too easy for India and they passed it with 6.3 overs to spare. “This was one of the best innings of my career because it is never easy to chase in one-day matches,” said Rohit.
“We knew we had to bounce straight back after the Zimbabwe match.”
Sri Lanka captain Tillekeratne Dilshan added: “The two early run-outs cost us a lot because we felt we needed a score of at least 280.
“The runs we did get were not enough for a good defence.” Now the rejuvenated Indians are back on track in the series and instead of being under pressure to survive they have the look of victors about them.
Man-of-the-match Rohit’s 100 came up in exact 100 balls. It was a race both against the light, which was generally indifferent, and also against the disappearing number of runs required for the win.
When his century was secured, India needed only a handful of runs to cross the line and his captain Raina held back for him.
Rohit hit six fours and two sixes in a faultless innings, which was not especially spectatular but of total command. He didn’t take all the limelight though. Virat Kohli weighed in with 82 before being caught on the boundary and they put on 154 for the third wicket.
Kohli needed 92 balls as he hit four fours in his seventh half century.
From a team standpoint India recovered well from their shock beating by Zimbabwe and are now back on track. — AFP
Scores: Sri Lanka 242 in 49.5 overs (Mathews 75, Dilshan 61; Dinda 2/44, Ojha 2/44, Jadeja 2/49) lost to India 243/3 in 43.3 overs (Rohit 101 not out, Kohli 82, Raina; Kulasekera 1/34, Fernando 1/58)
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