Mumbai, Oct 31: Despite being out of action for more than two months due to multiple injuries, Rohit Sharma showed no signs of struggle as he hammered the visiting Sri Lankan bowlers en route to 142 off 111 balls. India A coach, Sanjay Bangar said the 27-year-old looked completely at ease while batting and did not show any discomfort while fielding, which is a good sign for the Indian team.
"Rohit Sharma showed he's absolutely fit while batting. He is a quality player. He didn't get a game because of the injury. His match fitness had to be assessed and that was the reason the selectors had dropped him (from the first three ODIs against Lanka). He gave a fantastic account of himself," said Bangar after India A swamped the Lankans by 88 runs at the Brabourne Stadium.
"He has been practising really hard over the last 10 days. And he showed total recovery from that injury while batting, he showed no discomfort at all. He fielded throughout the 50 overs and these are good signs for the Indian team," he added.
Sharma, who picked up a finger injury in England, did not look in any trouble at all as he hit 18 fours and one six during his whirlwind knock. India A posted a mammoth 382 for six and then restricted the rivals to 294 for nine.
Bangar also praised Manish Pandey and said the Karnataka batsman's punishing knock of 135 not out, off 113 balls, would give him a lot of confidence. He also said the India A bowlers stuck to their plans.
"There were a lot of positives, especially the way we got the partnerships for the opening, second and third wicket. The running between the wickets, the intent was there. We were playing XI and they were exercising all their options. That was an added challenge and the way bowlers responded was terrific. All of them bowled to a plan and executed well."
"Also have to mention Dhawal (Kulkarni), he picked up a wicket with the new ball and even in the second powerplay, the way he gave a good account of himself; the variety in his bowling, the slow bouncers, different angles, bowling the yorkers, he executed it really well," said Bangar.
On Pandey's knock he said, "He has been batting pretty well, consistently. His state side won a lot of championships. They won the Irani, the Ranji trophy, most of the championships that they played in. He played a vital part in that. He had a fantastic IPL too. He won the IPL final for KKR. He has been in tremendous touch."
"He is always on the fringes. This innings of his can give him a lot of confidence because he came after we were put in to bat and you always expect the CCI wicket to do a bit in the first hour and a half. So, from that perspective, it must have been very satisfying for Manish Pandey," Bangar added.
Asked whether leggie Karn Sharma, who ripped through the Lankan miidle order to pick up 4 for 47, has now emerged as a strong candidate for India's World Cup squad, Bangar said not only he but all those who are part of the India and India A squads have a good chance to book berths.
Bangar, however, did not read too much into Lanka's defeat and said they were a quality side. "They wanted to test all their options and cover all areas (Lanka used all players in the match). The results of such matches don't matter a lot to visiting sides as much as they matter to the home teams. They are a quality side. They have crowned themselves as world champions in one format (T20) of the game."
Karn Sharma said he and the other bowlers stuck to a plan and restricted the rivals. "We had a good target to defend. Our aim was to restrict them and we bowled in the right areas. The wicket was good, we did not give easy balls to hit. We bowled line and length."
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