In a horrendous outing with the bat in chase of an improbable 358, the Islanders folded for 55 — their lowest ODI World Cup score ever — as Shami (5/18) ran through the Lankan batting order after a superb opening burst from pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
After a seventh straight win, skipper Rohit Sharma was delighted with the performance from the team and termed their progression in the tournament as clinical.
World Cup 2023: India crush Sri Lanka, become first team to qualify for semifinals
“I am very happy that we have officially qualified now (for the semis). When we started off in Chennai, this was our goal – to qualify first for the semis and obviously in the final,” said Rohit during the post-match presentation.
“The way we approached these seven games, it was quite clinical. Everyone put in the effort and a lot of individuals have put their hand up.”
While complimenting his batters for helping India put a massive score on the board, Rohit paid handsome encomiums to middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who produced a forceful 82 off 56 balls.
“That’s the kind of template you need to have when you want to score that many runs, and 350 on any pitch is a very good score and a lot of credit to the batting unit for taking us to that score.
“Shreyas is a very strong (in his mind) lad and he went there and did what he is exactly known for and that is what we expect from him. Shreyas showed that he is ready to take the challenge that is in front of him,” said Rohit.
India bowlers have supported their batters’ effort with some wonderful shows of their own in this tournament.
Rohit was chuffed to see his bowlers dominating all comers in all conditions.
“Siraj is a quality bowler and if he does that with new ball things look different for us. He has got a lot of skills when he is operating with the new ball.
“To put in a performance back-to-back against England and today (against SL), shows the quality of the seamers and if there is something in the conditions, they are quite lethal. I hope they continue the same way,” he added.
India’s next match is against South Africa and Rohit said his team is ready for the in-form Proteas.
“They (South Africa) are playing some good cricket, and so are we. It’s going to be a great spectacle for the people out there and people of Kolkata are going to enjoy that game,” he signed off.
(With inputs from PTI)