Rohit Sharma: We Didn't Dominate Against Spin | Series Defea

Published May 29, 2026 · Updated August 03, 2026

Rohit Sharma admits India's struggle against spin in the series defeat. Get key insights and analysis. Read more for expert breakdown.

During the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma claimed that India lacked cunning when batting against spin. At the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Wednesday, August 7, the Men in Blue suffered a crushing 110-run loss in the third game. Upon being instructed to pursue a 249 target, the visitors were dismissed for 138 in 26.1 overs.

Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando were commended by Rohit for their superb field manipulation, which included playing sweeps, paddle sweeps, and reverse sweeps. Mendis's 59 and Fernando's 96 set the groundwork for the home team. They also had an 82-run partnership for the second wicket. Sri Lanka won the series 2-0 as a result of their performance.

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"They consistently took their chances and made sweeps. Not many runs were scored over the air. The feet weren't used nearly as much as we had anticipated. It was all about breaching the deep square leg and midwicket area with sweeps. As a batting team, we were unable to do it. We overused our feet and didn't play enough paddle, reverse, or sweep sweeps. That made a difference, Rohit said following the game.

"If you see Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando today, they amassed 82 runs between them square of the wicket. The fielder was being forced to go left and right by their use of the turn and sweeping. They batted smarter than we did, and we didn't," Rohit continued.

Overall, we must own our shortcomings and acknowledge that we were not victorious over spin. You have to exert a little bit of dominance on such surfaces, and in all three games, the Sri Lankan spinners had put us under pressure," Rohit continued.