'RP is a very talented bowler' - Sehwag

Rudra Pratap Singh impressed one and all with his impressive bowling in the 6th ODI at Rajkot © Getty Images

Virender Sehwag, who celebrated his home captaincy debut with an emphatic win at Rajkot, hailed his bowlers for sticking to a good line and length and restricting Sri Lanka to just 196. He said he was "very impressed" with Rudra Pratap Singh, who set up the win with a fine spell, and S Sreesanth and also acknowledged the contributions made by the spinners in the middle overs.

On a pitch that both captains admitted was on the slower side, Rudra Pratap, playing just his third ODI, was rewarded for sticking to the nuts and bolts of medium-pace. Coming on to bowl in the 12th over, he began with a maiden and had Upul Tharanga flinching and edging one that reared superbly from a good length. "RP is a very talented bowler," Sehwag added," and his specialty is that he can bring the ball into the right-handers and swing it both ways."

Despite being struck for a few fours early, Rudra Pratap, who made his first class debut on this very ground against the touring New Zealanders two years back, didn't waver too much with his rhythm. Known around the domestic circuit as a bowler who can prodigiously swing the ball, he showed that he could deliver even when the atmospheric conditions weren't on his side. "In Zimbabwe [where he made his debut] there was more swing for me, here I needed to concentrate on my length. I've been learnt a lot from Irfan [Pathan] and he's advised me on bowling in different situations."

Even with Ajit Agarkar ruled out with flu, India found all their moves paying off yet again. Sehwag said that he was confident that his bowling attack could do the job, a fact which had partly influenced his decision at the toss. "In the past we had won games while chasing and our bowlers were doing well. Also the Sri Lankan bowlers were not in form and I felt we could chase any target. We had planned to cut down on the number of extras and I'm glad we conceded just three in this game."

He added that his inability to convert 20s to 50s and 100s was both "difficult and irritating". However, he said that he really enjoyed his role as captain during the game and said that he was learning with each experience. "Captaincy is something which one needs to get used to," he said. "I learnt a lot from the Ahmedabad game and made sure I didn't repeat the same mistakes here."