2nd ODI: Was determined to bat as long as possible, says Rohit Sharma

India skipper Rohit Sharma says he was determined not to throw his wicket away, a day after an end-stage manic acceleration saw him smash a record third double ton in ODIs. The skipper spoke to head coach Ravi Shastri after India levelled the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with a 141-run win in the second game here. "I kept telling myself unless I make a mistake I am not going to get out. I want them to get me out, I don't want to throw away my wicket, so that is something that I kept telling and I was quite determined to bat as long as possible," Rohit said.

India's Rohit Sharma en route his unbeaten 208 against SL at Mohali on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

Opening the innings, Rohit scored 208 to guide India to a mammoth 392 for four at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday. "I knew the wicket was superb and the outfield here is lightening fast, so I kept telling myself I just need to hold the position, and hit through the line. That's all I did. We knew that the conditions were a little challenging at the start of the innings. And Shikhar (Dhawan) an I knew once we play out those initial overs then batting will get easier and exactly that happened." The left-right opening combination compounded Sri Lanka's woes. "We kept rotating the strike, which was very important, and we never allowed the bowler to bowl six balls at one batsman, we wanted to change and the left-right combination always helps."

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