Asia Cup 2023: On Loss Against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma's 'Big Picture' Clarification

16.09.2023 - 03:11 sports.ndtv.com

Rohit Sharma defended the decision to make massive changes to the playing XI after India were beaten by Bangladesh in their final Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match on Friday.

India were already in the final of the tournament and for the inconsequential match, they decided to rest veteran players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj.

On the other hand, youngster Tilak Varma was handed his ODI debut while Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Suryakumar Yadav made their way to the side.

In the aftermath of the match, Rohit said that the idea was to give some game time for the cricketers and that can be important ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. "We wanted to give some game time to the guys, keeping the bigger picture in mind.

cricket India Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team Asia Cup 2023 cup on loss Rohit Sharma Axar Patel Shubman Gill India Bangladesh

It was a truly special performance from Mohammed Siraj as he completed a sensational five-wicket haul that included four wickets in one over during the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka on Sunday. The Sri Lanka batters were left dumbstruck by the quality of Siraj's bowling as they had no answer for his disciplined display. After taking two wickets in the over, Dhananjaya De Silva connected with a full delivery from Siraj and with not many fielders in front of square, the fast bowler rushed towards the boundary and although he was not able to complete the save, his effort left Virat Kohli and his other teammates in splits.

Asia Cup 2023 Final: India Make Huge Changes To Playing XI Against Sri Lanka, Name Surprise Inclusion

The Indian cricket team made six changes to the playing XI from the side that lost the Super 4 match against Bangladesh as the Rohit Sharma-led side take on Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday. Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj made their way back to the side while Washington Sundar was included in place of the injured Axar Patel. Patel played an impressive knock of 42 against Bangladesh but ended up suffering a left quadriceps strain.

India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2023 Final: Rohit Sharma Set To Surpass Sachin Tendulkar, Equal MS Dhoni For Historic Feats

In the 15th edition of Asia cup across formats India take on Sri Lanka in search for the 8th Asia Cup title. Sri Lanka will be defending their championship (won in 2022, T20Is). India will be playing 10th final in Asia Cup across format, seven times they have faced Sri Lanka in the Final. India has won four times in the seven encounters in Asia Cup Final. Out of the three defeats for India v SL, two of them have come in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will be playing their 12th Asia Cup final across format.

India's Predicted XI vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2023 Final: Will Mohammed Shami Get A Chance?

India will take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday. While the Rohit Sharma-led finished at the top spot in the Super 4 table with 4 points and a net run rate (NRR) of +1.753, Sri Lanka entered the final after a second spot finish, 4 points and an NRR of -0.141. India suffered a shock six-run loss to Bangladesh in their last match of the Super 4 stage, while Sri Lanka stunned Pakistan with a two-wicket win (DLS method) to set up a summit clash with the seven-time Asia Cup champions, the most successful team in the tournament history.

Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma Equals Virat Kohli In The List Of Unwanted Record With A Duck Against Bangladesh

Rohit Sharma on Friday equalled Virat Kohli in the list of an unwanted record. The India captain scored a duck off two balls in the side's last match of Super 4 in Asia Cup 2023. It was Rohit's 15th duck in his 249-match ODI career. Interestingly, the number of times Rohit has been dismissed without scoring a run in ODI cricket is exactly same to that of Virat Kohli. While the list of most ducks in an ODI career is topped by Sri Lanka legend Sanath Jayasuriya (34), batting great Sachin Tendulkar with 20 such dismissals is at the helm when it comes to Indian players.

"Good Workout" For India: After Shock Loss To Bangladesh, Ravi Shastri's Big Observation

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri opened up on the Rohit Sharma-led side's shock defeat to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Super 4 clash on Friday. Shastri feels India let the game slip out of their grasp by allowing Bangladesh to score extra 50 to 60 runs. Bangladesh were reeling at 59 for 4 at one stage before making a strong recovery to post 265 for 8. Speaking of the defeat, Shastri feels it's a great learning curve for the team ahead of Sunday's final against Sri Lanka at the same venue.