Players should be embarrassed with their performance: Nic Pothas

The Sri Lankans are in real trouble playing the No.1 Test team on their home soil. The Indian team won the second Test by a massive margin of an innings and 239 runs and also took a lead of 1-0 in the 3-match Test series. It was a poor performance by the visitors, even after winning the toss and electing to bat first. The Lankan coach Nic Pothas feels the players should be embarrassed with their performance in the second Test match at Nagpur.

The visitors seemed pretty lacklustre in all departments of the game. They were first bowled out for 205 runs on the very first day of the Test match on a surface which looked good for a big first innings score. The Indians replied with a mammoth total of 610/6, with a lead of 405 runs. They failed to apply themselves yet again in the second innings as they were bowled out for 166 runs.

It is a big embarrassment

The Lankan coach Pothas believes that this is a very disappointing performance by the visitors and is an embarrassment for the players. He mentioned the fact that it takes a lot of hard work and ethics to work on different areas off the field on all players, which is more demotivating. The interim coach also reckoned that the players need to understand the importance of their performance on the field rather than just in the nets while preparing.

“It is hugely disappointing because of the amount of work ethics that goes in behind the scenes. It is embarrassing (defeat). Players should be embarrassed with their own performances. Net practice means nothing if you don’t get out and put runs on the board,” said Pothas after the second Test match against India at Nagpur.

He further mentioned that the preparation does not matter if the batsman fails to put the runs on the board. The coach also stated that all the plans and strategies are only successful, if they are executed properly.

“You can talk all that you want to and plan a lot but at the end of the day you’ve got to execute plans. As a player, your currency is runs, wickets and catches. You can do all you like but if you are not producing them, obviously there will be repercussions. That’s the world of professional sport,” he added.

Experienced guys should realize their responsibility

The most experienced guy in the Lankan line-up, Angelo Mathews failed in both the innings of the second Test match. Pothas admitted that the all-rounder is an experienced player and he will surely assess his performance and technical shortcomings in his batting. He also pointed to the fact that Mathews has played less games in the longer format, after his appointment as the interim coach of the Sri Lanka team.

“I have been only in place for six months and Angie hasn’t played a lot of Test match cricket prior to one of these games. But you can count on numbers over a period of time. Your numbers will tell you a pretty good story about where you stand. You can look at yourself and ask what have I done,” he concluded.