‘Bowlers were at their best in second Test’

Colombo, August 27

Team Director Ravi Shastri today termed the performance of the Indian bowlers in the second Test as the “best in the last couple of years” and hoped for a repeat show in the series-decider. “It was the best bowling performance I have seen from this unit in the last couple years, especially on the second and the third day. They weren’t getting wickets regularly during that phase but they maintained the discipline,” said Shastri.

Shastri also stressed on the fact that the batting order of the side will remain flexible and, depending on match situations, will be changed accordingly. “In this team, no one owns a batting position. It all depends on the situation. We will play horses for courses and see what the situation and the opposition demands.

“Accordingly, we will see what is the best batting position for each batsman against that given outfit and situation,” Shastri said in response to a question about the swap between the batting orders of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma.

Shastri said they will go all out for the series-clinching win in the third Test. “Nothing has changed from Galle. We are in a position to win this Test and the series. At the same time, we can’t be overconfident. We need the right balance and we need to play proper cricket like we did in the last Test,” he added.

Shastri did not comment on team selection apart from naming Naman Ojha as the first-choice keeper. “There is still quite a bit of grass on it. We will wait until our practice gets over. We will then have a look at it and decide what should be the combination tomorrow. But Ojha is the first-choice keeper in this squad, unless we really want to do something else with the combinations.” — PTI