We are confident – Dimuth
Playing at Lord’s in the World Test Championship final is at the back of their minds but Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne says he won’t let this add pressure to his charges as they head to New Zealand tonight for an all-important two-match Test series against the Kiwis.
Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and head coach Chris Silverwood, during Sri Lanka's training at the newly renovated Radella cricket ground
Anything below a 2-0 scoreline will put Sri Lanka out of the race to enter the final to be held on June 7 to 11 regardless of the outcome of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India and Australia are currently involved.
The tour will begin with a two-day warm up game at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch starting on March 4. The first Test starts on March 9 at the same venue followed by the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on March 17.
“We are very clear with what we have to do to enter the finals. Saying that, I want my players to focus on the business at hand,” said skipper Karunaratne ahead of team’s departure to
New Zealand.
Sri Lanka are currently at No.3 in World Test Championships rankings behind Australia and India and their chance of entering the finals will depend on the current series between India and Australia and them beating New Zealand 2-0. If Australia fails to win or draw in the next two Tests against India, it will open up a chance for Sri Lanka (53.33) to qualify for the final, provided they beat New Zealand 2-0 in their upcoming series.
With this in mind, Sri Lanka concluded a week-long training in Radella, a ground located some 4000 feet above sea level to replicate the conditions in New Zealand.
“We had a very good preparation in Radella where conditions, I would say, almost similar to what we can expect in New Zealand. The weather, the seam and bounce of the wickets, were quite challenging for the batters and I believe this would help us acclimatise to the conditions fast,” he explained.
Though Sri Lanka’s performance is far from being dominant in the current championship cycle, they have enjoyed a fair run, winning five of the 10 games played, losing four and drawing one.
Sri Lanka has never beaten New Zealand 2-0 in New Zealand. Out of the 17 occasions they have confronted each other, the Kiwis have won seven series to that of Sri Lanka’s four. They have drawn six series and Sri Lanka’s only series win in New Zealand was in 1994/1995 on the back of a fine bowling masterclass by seamer Chaminda Vaas (5/47, 5/43).
Karunaratne knows his team has a tough task ahead but believes they are up for the challenge.
“We know it’s a tough series but if our batters can take a little more responsibility to get us a good total, we have the bowling to defend it,” asserted Karunaratne, saying they need at least 400-450 runs on the board.
Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews and Karunaratne himself have been among runs and the skipper wants them to lead from the front. But it was in July 2022 that they last featured in a Test match and the long wait may impact their performances with the bat.
“It’s really frustrating,” he said.
“We need matches to keep performing but sadly we don’t prioritise Test cricket like other countries do. We have only five matches this year. It’s sad, but this is how it has been.”
“In fact, I have asked the Board to get us more matches outside the Test Championships that will help our boys to get good rankings and even reach personal milestones,” he explained.
“I would love to play 100 Tests but the way things are it needs at least four more years to do that. It’s really frustrating”.
Karunaratne has featured in 82 Tests matches for Sri Lanka scoring 6023 runs. Adding that he has no immediate plan to relinquish the captaincy, he acknowledged the support he gets from the rest of the players to keep pushing for excellence.
“All I did was to change the team culture and environment and everyone had fallen in line with that. This is why we have managed to perform well in the longer format,” he said, praising the players.