SL vs IND, 1st ODI: Indian batters will be given ample opportunities to bowl, says bowling coach Bahutule

Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI, which ended in a tie, and Bahutule said it will be the way forward even though the opener gave away 14 runs in his lone over.

Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI. | Photo Credit: PTI

India’s interim bowling coach, Sairaj Bahutule, felt that his side should have gotten over the line in the first one-day international against Sri Lanka, which ended in a sensational tie on Friday.

“To have a tied game is exciting, though we should have gotten that one run and finished off on a winning note,” said Bahutule. 

“Nevertheless, I think we bowled well to start with and batted well in patches. We could have had a few partnerships that could have taken us (home) with fewer wickets going. But it was a good start, and we look forward to improving in whatever areas we need to and getting better as the tournament goes,” he added.

The former India leg-spinner added that while the bowlers did well to restrict the hosts to 230, they could have limited the opponents to an even lower score.

“I think they had a partnership when we got them to 142 for six. Maybe we could have got them for 15-20 fewer runs. Our bowlers, even the pacers (Mohammed) Siraj, Arshdeep (Singh) and Shivam (Dube), bowled good areas on a pitch that helped the spinners more, and so did all our spinners.”

Before the match, there was debate on whether Rishabh Pant would make a comeback, but India continued with K.L. Rahul as the wicketkeeper and went with three all-rounders: Dube, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar. 

Bahutle indicated that the team would look to continue this strategy and remarked that a batter in the top order who can bowl will be handy. On Friday, Shubman Gill bowled one over and conceded 14 runs. 

“You might have seen in the T20Is when Rinku (Singh) and Suryakumar (Yadav) contributed with the ball. So, Shubman got an opportunity here. It’s going to be an all-rounders game in the coming days. Our batters are good bowlers, but their primary skill is batting, so they don’t focus much on their bowling. But they have the skills.”

“If someone in the top four or five can bowl, it always helps the team. Moving forward, you will see contributions. Depending on the situation and pitch conditions, a batter who can bowl can surprise the opposition. I am sure moving ahead, there will be ample opportunities for the batters to bowl,” said Bahutule.