Captain Rohit Sharma praised his team’s middle-order batsmen’s performance after India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20I in Dharamsala and sealed the series on Saturday.

“Yeah, it was something that was important, especially for the middle order to come and string together a partnership, which was good to see,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

“It has happened quite a few times over the past few games. We have a lot of talent in our batting unit and we’ll keep giving them the chances. It’s up to them to make the most of those opportunities.”

Rohit heaped praise on both Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson, making a special mention of their ability to express themselves.

“Sanju showed with that knock how well he could play. A lot of these guys are quite talented. They just need an opportunity to go out there and express themselves. There are a lot of guys waiting in the wings as well, but their time will come.

“We’ve got to look after the guys who have been in and around the team for a while. We do understand all these guys possess a lot of talent. So it’s just about giving them the opportunity and the backing from our side,” Rohit emphasised. “It was an important knock from Shreyas... Couldn’t have asked for anything more from him.”

For Shreyas, what mattered was how well he could time the ball. “It was important for me to time the ball since it was swinging and seaming a bit,” he stated.

“When I faced the first few balls, I realised it wasn’t turning. So I knew I could use my feet and step out for the lofted shots.”