Although Sri Lanka have lost the three match Test series against England, former captain Dimuth Karunaratne vowed to fightback and end the tour on a high note. The third and final Test match between the teams starts at The Oval on Friday and with World Test Championship points to play for, Sri Lanka need to finish the series well.
“Every Test match is important as these are part of the World Test Championship. If we win we get points and that will be good for us. We have hope to get points and finish on a high note.”
Sri Lanka started off the tour placed fourth in the World Test Championship but now have slipped to seventh. Bangladesh have moved on to number four following their series win over Pakistan while England are at five.
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“We chatted about where things went wrong for us. We know we did better than England in certain sessions. One of the main things in our mind will be how we are going to dismiss Joe Root. The other one is how we are going to score runs and what is our approach going to be. We have a bowling meeting tomorrow and one thing we want to come clear is a good plan for Joe. His past performance we need to analyze and we need to find out what we can do in these conditions.”
Root has hit a purple patch and scored hundreds in each innings at Lord’s and now has the most centuries by an England batter overtaking Sir Alastair Cook. His half-century in the first Test at Old Trafford also proved vital as England had a nervous run chase before winning by five wickets. Root now averages 67 against Sri Lanka, way above his career average of 50.
The 36-year-old Dimuth has come on three Test tours to England and despite playing seven Test matches so far, he hasn’t been able to score a hundred in England. The left-handed opener has scored hundreds all over the world and England and Australia are two places where he has missed out.
“This is probably my last series in England. Not going to put any pressure. I scored some runs in the last game and good start it was. Gutted couldn’t get a big one. Would like to finish the series on a good note. A win would be ideal before we head back home,” Dimuth explained.
Apart from Joe Root and Kamindu Mendis, batters from both sides have struggled to post big scores as the wicket has offered plenty of assistance for fast bowlers.
“England is a tough place for batters. Except for Root everyone has struggled. This is England’s home conditions. We are chatting as to how we can raise our games. Juniors have turned up for the challenge. Kamindu Mendis has been sensational for us. That’s the beauty of this game. Some adapt quickly and some take time. We are hoping as a unit to score a big total in the third Test.”
“I feel like I am in good nick but you have to start from ball one in the next game. The wicket is greenish and we expect bounce and pace to be there. Our top order has failed in both innings and if they can get about 150 or 200 then we can rely on the middle order to give us a big first innings total.”
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Dimuth also praised fast bowler Asitha Fernando, who has moved up to number eight in ICC Rankings for bowlers. Asitha has been the standout performer from either side claiming 14 wickets so far. He became the first Sri Lankan after Rumesh Ratnayake to claim five wickets at Lord’s.
“His consistency and line and lengths have improved a lot in recent years. He works really hard during training and knows what to do in the middle. That’s the secret of his success. I hope he goes on to become the number one bowler in the world.”
