2nd T20I: Rohit happy with middle-order leading India to emphatic victory

Dharamsala, Feb 26 (IANS) India skipper Rohit Sharma was quite pleased to see his middle-order batsmen coming good after an indifferent show with the ball in the seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the second T20I here on Saturday.

The Indian bowlers had allowed Sri Lanka to escape from 76-3 in the first half of their innings and post a fighting 183/5 in 20 overs.

In reply, India lost Sharma cheaply with only nine runs on the board before the middle order of Shreyas Iyer (74 not out), Sanju Samson (39) and Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out) helped the hosts successfully chase the target with 17 balls to spare. The seven-wicket victory gave India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Captain Rohit Sharma was quite elated with the way the middle-order of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja took charge and got the job done with a lot of balls to spare.

"I think it was pleasing to see for us. The middle-order coming out and performing is good to see those guys taking the responsibility and finishing off games," Sharma said in the post-match ceremony on Saturday.

"Lot of these guys are talented. They just need an opportunity to express themselves and backing from our side. To finish the way they did was really good. Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) came and looked positive from ball one and Shreyas as well. We lost a couple of wickets, but we wanted someone to stay till the end," he added.

The India skipper said he would not be too harsh on his bowlers, who gave Sri Lanka a lot of leeways. Only Jasprit Bumrah (1/23) could make an impression on the rival batsmen. Harshal Patel was carted around for 1/52 in four overs.

"I don't want to be too harsh on the bowlers. It can happen these days, but we restricted them in the first 15 overs. It was a good pitch to bat on as well," Sharma said.

With India taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, the inevitable question of giving chance to young players in the squad cropped up but Rohit Sharma did not divulge anything on that front.

"If we need to rotate, we'll do it," he said in a rather cryptic response.