Great to see Sri Lanka’s fighting spirit after first Test debacle
View(s):A fine effort by Sri Lanka with the bat has put us in a strong position in the second Test against England in Galle and I am so happy with the way Angelo Mathews took up responsibility after a tough first Test. Angelo was brilliant. It was a good determined knock when the chips were down by our senior most player.
There were quite a few negative things going around the team leading up to this Test match but Angelo showed his class. As a former captain, he showed the way to others how to come out from a crisis. We need a player like him in the team because he can do wonders with his experience. I wish Lahiru Thirimanne too went on to get a big one especially after he got a good start.
Niroshan Dickwella’s 92 would have given him lot of confidence. In the past, he has got starts but has thrown it away. But here, he brought out his best. It’s unfortunate that he got out without getting a hundred but I sense this is going to be the turning point of his career. It is important that once we identify talent we back them and I am glad we didn’t lose patience with Dickwella.
I have always felt that Dilruwan Perera is a solid batsman. I am not too sure whether he bats sufficiently in the nets and applies himself. I think he has underperformed as a batsman but on Saturday he showed us what he is capable of doing with the bat. He is not just an off-spinner. Dilruwan is good enough to be categorised as an all-rounder. He is an asset to the team.
This is the kind of fight that we lacked in the first Test. For visiting teams, the Galle heat is tough. When we bat for a session or two without giving wickets, we see the opposition giving it away; their body language is not so great, the fielding becomes sloppy and then they are down and out. This is what we failed to do in the first Test after winning the toss.
The stand out performer for me from the England camp is James Anderson. He has been playing international cricket for 19 years now and he has gone onto play 157 Test matches; not a very easy thing for a fast bowler.
Anderson read the wicket well and he knew how to bowl and where to bowl. He constantly kept it outside the off-stump letting the batsmen do the mistake. In this heat, showing such application is hard work and at 38 years of age, he is super fit. He is very good with the new ball, moving it away from the right-hander. He bowls only four to six overs in a spell and just keeps things simple relying on good line and length. He had bowled more than 100 dot balls on day one which is pretty remarkable. Our fast bowlers have a lot to learn from him. He has got over 600 wickets but his enthusiasm never fades.
We have got two early wickets and need to dry up runs now and frustrate the batsmen. Then they will make mistakes by taking risks. That will enable us to take wickets. That’s the formula for winning this match now that we have runs on the board.
Joe Root is the key. He will look to sweep and reverse sweep. We need to cut off those boundaries and wait patiently till he makes a mistake. I expect the wicket to turn on day three.
I am so happy to see the way India fought back in Australia to win the series. When they were bowled out for 36 runs in Adelaide, they were down and out and nobody expected them to win the series from thereon. They were written off. But they believed in themselves and fought back admirably.
India did not have their captain, all their leading bowlers were injured but with limited resources they achieved the unthinkable.
What is even more special about this is that India won the deciding Test match at the Gabba. Brisbane is such a tough place for visiting teams, especially teams from Asia. The bounce at the Gabba makes things tough for teams from sub-continent.
The fact that Australia haven’t lost a Test match at the Gabba for 32 years gives you an indication how strong they are at that ground.
This is one of the best comebacks in cricket I have seen. Hats off to Ravi Shastri for making the team to believe in themselves. The message that this gives us all is that nothing is impossible in cricket and in life.