We were completely outplayed, rues Dinesh Chandimal

The dwindling fortunes for the Sri Lankan team continued as they lost the second Test against India recently. With the defeat, they conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to India in the 3-match Test series. Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal rued the fact that they were completely outplayed in the match. After having conceded in excess of 600 runs in the first innings, Sri Lanka bundled out for a paltry 183 in their response.

Following on, they managed to show some fight. However, that was not enough to save the game. Chandimal cited the first innings collapse as the prime reason for their defeat. He pointed out that even they were left perplexed at the way pitch behaved in their first innings. They did not expect themselves to perform so poorly in their first innings.

“We were completely outplayed. The first innings effort was disappointing and it cost us heavily. They (Indians) batted well too. Scoring 622 is huge. That put us under lot of pressure. They got 600, but we didn’t think we would get out so cheaply. We were surprised as well because the pitch started turning more than we thought more than it was in the first one and a half days. The reason we lost the game is because we got out for 183 in the first innings,” quoted Dinesh Chandimal.

On Karunaratne’s innings

In the second innings, Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne lead the Sri Lankan fightback. The two batsmen added a century stand after Upul Tharanga was sent back packing cheaply. While Mendis’ knock was on the aggressive side, Karunaratne played the waiting game. Dinesh Chandimal looked very impressed with the way he batted. Karunaratne missed out on a well deserved 150.

“It was a special innings that Dimuth played. As an opener we expect that kind of innings from him, so we’re very happy he played that innings on a very tough deck like this one. Of the innings that I’ve seen over the last three or four years, this innings was one of the best, both from our team and oppositions. It was an excellent innings. He always goes to the crease looking to score runs. I think that must have helped him get these 140 runs,” said the Sri Lankan captain.

On the spirit shown in the second innings

Speaking about the kind of fightback they showed in the second innings, Dinesh Chandimal lauded his boys for the comeback. he noted that the players executed their plans to perfection. They had planned to use the sweep and the reverse sweep against the Indian spinners.

“After the second day’s play we felt it was tough to bat on it. We tried to play straight but we couldn’t score well. Before the second innings we had a discussion and had a chat about what was the best way to score runs. Everyone agreed that the best way moving forward was by using the sweep and reverse sweep shots heavily. We executed that really well in the second innings. We fought hard,” Chandimal remarked.

On Ravindra Jadeja and plans for the final Test

Chandimal also had a word of praise for Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who bagged a five-wicket haul in the second innings. He credited Jadeja for sticking to his plans and bowling consistently well. “Jadeja is a very special bowler. That is the reason why he is ranked number one in world ranking. Credit to him for sticking to his plans. He bowled really well,” Chandimal remarked.

Commenting on the Sri Lankan bowling, Chandimal rued the fact that they do not have the services of their premier bowlers. He conceded that the selectors and the team management will work on the same in the coming days before the third Test. He feels winning the final Test against a strong unit like India will be a big morale boost for them.

“Yes it’s a bit disadvantage not to have Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal. We haven’t made any decisions on selection because it was only in this match Nuwan got injured. We haven’t spoken to the selectors. We will make a plan in the future and try to execute that. We have four days now. We come out and try to win every match,” conceded Dinesh Chandimal.

“Even over the next few days we are hoping to spend a lot of time and energy in training. If we can win even one match against a team like India, it will be a boost to the mental state of the team. They (India) are the no. 1 team,” he conceded further.