India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar defended Rohit Sharma's cheap dismissals in the two innings of the warm-up game, stating that the talented Mumbaikar's flair at No. 3 is necessary as they aim to score 300 plus runs on each batting day.
While skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that Rohit will bat No 3 in the series, scores of 7 and 8 (while opening in second innings) have raised a few eyebrows as to whether the experiment would work or not.
"I think what he definitely brings at No 3 is the flair factor. With the kind of cricket that this team is looking to play, wherein we are wanting to at least go past 300 on each batting day, that's where somebody of his (Rohit) calibre can chip in and contribute in that manner," Bangar said at the post match press conference in Colombo.
Bangar said that Rohit is batting well in the nets and it is just a matter of time before he gets going out there in the middle.
"Rohit is an experienced campaigner. He has been on the international scene for a long period and he is hitting a lot of balls in the nets. So whatever absence of time that he has not been able to spend out in the middle (a month-long break), we are spending time in the nets and he is hitting a lot of balls.
"He is batting really well. It's just a matter of time that he gets a decent start and looks to convert that into a big one," said Bangar.
Overall, Bangar was happy with how the tour game panned as both batsmen and bowlers got decent outings.
"I think all the batsmen got two decent innings and this is what you basically want after a long lay-off," said Bangar.
