We learnt how the Indian team does well: Nic Pothas

The Sri Lankan team has arrived in India for the three-Test series, which will be followed by the limited overs fixtures. In Dinesh Chandimal, the Lankans have a skipper who can show them the way and lead by example. The visitors will look to get the monkey off their back, as they are yet to win a Test match on the Indian soil. And the last time these two sides met, India thrashed them 3-0.

The visiting team’s head coach Nic Pothas has said that the defeats against India have taught them a lesson. He feels that the Lankan side are much better now in terms of discipline and they are united. He understands the fact that it is going to be an important series, and if they manage to do well here, the cricketing fraternity back home will be in steady state.

“Thanks for reminding us now (the defeats). It’s always a pleasure to come here and challenge ourselves against a very very good team,” the South African said. We learnt how Indian team does well and the areas we needed to improve.”

The Lankan revival

The Sri Lankan team won the Test series against Pakistan in UAE, a feat not many teams have managed to achieve. When asked about the revival, he said: “It’s internal — the discipline, the culture and how the teams stick together. When we took on India, we were all pretty new from the support staff and the players involved.”

“We focus on ourselves. The mistake you can make here is come and be infatuated with the Indian side and concentrating too much on them. We know they are a good side. But we played them months ago.

He also added that it is important to focus on their own strengths rather than thinking about the opposition. “We are concentrating on our strengths and jobs. If we execute them well, it will be a challenging series. Not many teams have come here and won. Sometimes you can get hung up on weaknesses. We go the other way and focus on what we do well.”