Ahead of Australia Tests, Dinesh Chandimal seeks inspiration from the Indian team

Ahead of the challenging Test series against Australia, Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal has said his team would seek inspiration from India’s historic triumph Down Under this month.  Earlier this month, India won the four-match Border-Gavaskar series 2-1 to register their first-ever Test series win on Australian soil in 12 attempts. In doing so, India also became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia.

Sri Lanka are now eyeing to replicate India’s feat in the upcoming two-Test series. They had a mixed 2018 as far as results in Tests are concerned. They drew the Test series in West Indies before clean sweeping South Africa at home in the two-match series. However, they suffered a crushing 3-0 loss at the hands of England which ended their unbeaten run against the European team at home. In their last Test assignment, they lost the two-match series in New Zealand 1-0.

On the other hand, Australia are also going through a tough phase right now. They have looked far from convincing in recent times and need to pull their socks up if they are eyeing to win their first Test series since the last Ashes. And Dinesh Chandimal is confident his side can do the task against the Tim Paine-led side.

“We have done well in New Zealand in both Tests, especially in the second innings. We just want to start well whether bowling or batting. We learnt from that last series and guys have some game plans. If they can take it out to the middle it will give us a good start,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Chandimal as saying.

He further pointed out how India’s bowlers made the difference in the series, saying, “Our fast bowlers are in good shape and if we can get more than 300 that will be great from the batting unit. The India bowling unit was really good, especially between overs 40-80. That’s why they won the series. As a team, we just want to do that as well.”

Sri Lanka’s dismal record

Sri Lanka have a poor record in Tests Down Under. The Islanders have visited Australia six times but have returned empty-handed every time. So far, they have played 13 Tests in the country and have lost 11 while drawing the other two. But they will draw confidence from the last meeting of the two teams which they won 3-0 in 2016. The first Test will start from January 24 followed by the second match which will begin from February 1.

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