Bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule indicated that India will continue to give bowling opportunities to their top-order batters as it can work as a “surprise element” to the opposition.
Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI, which ended in a tie in Colombo on Friday, and Bahutule said it will be the way forward even though the opener gave away 14 runs in his lone over.
“I think our batters are good bowlers as well, to be honest. You know their primary skill is batting, so at times, they don't focus much on their bowling. But they have the skills,” said Bahutule in the post-match press meet.
In contrast, Lankan skipper and their premier batter Charith Asalanka bowled 8.5 overs and walked away with returns of three for 30, including the wickets of Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh in two successive balls, helping his side to snatch a tie.
Bahutule used the example of Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh bowling in the T20Is against Sri Lanka to validate his point.
“You might have seen in the T20Is…Rinku and Surya contributed with the ball. So, an opportunity was given to Shubman here. It's going to be an all-rounder's game in the coming days.
"So, if one or two (batsmen) from the top-order can bowl it will definitely help the team, of course, depending on pitch conditions and situations. Also, it will be a surprise element to the opposition, if a batter can bowl. So, moving ahead there will be ample opportunities for batters to bowl,” he explained.
Bahutule said the visitors could have tried to forge better partnerships after starting from the blocks in a blazing fashion.
“To have a tie in ODI is always exciting. Yeah, we should have got that one run and finished off the match. Nevertheless, I thought we bowled really well.
“We did bat well in patches, and we could have had few partnerships that would have taken us (home) with less wickets going,” he said.
Bahutule admitted that the Lankan spinners used the nature of the pitch to the hilt.
“I think the nature of the pitch and the way they bowled…Hasaranga and Asalanka executed their skills very well.
“We tried our best to get into the partnerships, and Shivam (Dube) also batted well and contributed. But yes, we could have put in that one extra effort of scoring that single run.”
The former India leg-spinner said the team should have capitalised on the start given by skipper Rohit Sharma, who made a rollicking 58 off 47 balls.
It helped India reach 75 in 12.4 overs before the rot set in.
“The start given by Rohit was fantastic, and at one stage it looked like we wouldn't lose too many wickets. It (the way Rohit batted) was important when the ball was hard and coming onto the bat. I think it was his first ODI innings after the (50-over) World Cup.
“It didn't look like there was a break. He takes on the responsibility, sets the tone against any opposition, any pace attack. He is very positive in his intent.”
Bahutule rued the fact that Indian bowlers could not restrict the hosts.
Sri Lanka managed to add a few extra runs after being reduced to 142 for six.
“They had a partnership after we got them down to 160 for six, maybe we could have got them for 15-20 runs less. But overall, I think the bowlers did well. Arshdeep and Siraj began well and Shivam bowled well on a wicket which was slightly helpful to the spinners.
“I think spinners – Washi, Axar and Kuldeep – contributed well. To restrict them to 230 was, I think, a good effort,” he added.
