Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Rangana Herath says his team will have to come up with “something special” to have a chance against world No.1 India in the three-match cricket Test series starting here tomorrow.
“We chased 380-odd in our last Test. But India and Zimbabwe are different teams, and we are playing international cricket so that confidence should help the boys. They are the no.1 team at the moment and are playing very good cricket. So this is an interesting and challenging tour for us. We need to do something special,” said Herath on the eve of the first Test here.
“We need to look for home advantage. But at the same time, we’ll have to look at different abilities of both teams.
We select the team on that basis. So far, we have played with more spinners but we’re playing against the world’s number one team. So we have a responsibility (to judge the situation accordingly),” he added when asked about his side’s balance between pace and spin options.
The hosts will be missing newly-appointed captain and a Test regular Dinesh Chandimal who has been laid low with pneumonia.
Sri Lankan stand-in skipper Rangana Herath is of the opinion that the home team have to come up with “something special” if they stand chance against the World’s No.1 ranked side in the upcoming 3 match Test series starting at Galle from tomorrow. Though Sri Lanka chased down a record target against Zimbabwe, they are well aware of the fact that India will be a whole new ball game given their exceptional depth in all 3 departments of the game.
“We chased 380-odd in our last Test. But India and Zimbabwe are different teams, and we are playing international cricket so that confidence should help the boys. They are the no.1 team at the moment and are playing very good cricket. So this is an interesting and challenging tour for us. We need to do something special,” Herath said at the press conference ahead of the opening Test at Galle.
“We need to look for home advantage. But at the same time, we’ll have to look at different abilities of both teams. We select the team on that basis. So far, we have played with more spinners but we’re playing against the world’s number one team. So we have a responsibility (to judge the situation accordingly),” Herath added.
The newly appointed Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out from the first Test due to pneumonia and Dhananjaya de Silva has been named as his replacement. Sri Lanka has also included Milinda Pushpakumara who is a veteran in the domestic circuit and has bagged 558 wickets in 99 matches.
“It’s a big loss for us. As a captain or as a player, Dinesh Chandimal gives his 100 percent to the team. We miss him but I am sure he will come back for either the second Test or in the third Test,” said Herath.
“Malinda Pushpakumara can take over from me, and I totally agree on that. If you take his First-Class career, he has taken more than 500 wickets. Those statistics say that he is a very good bowler.
“Whether I am retired or not, I am sure he is the second option as a left arm spinner. But we haven’t taken a decision whether to play or not Malinda for tomorrow’s game. Even if we play two spinners, he may get a chance,” he added.
Sri Lanka defeated India by 63 runs at Galle in 2015 and it was largely possible due to Dinesh Chandimal’s brilliant 160 in the 2nd innings and Rangana Herath’s 7 wicket haul on the final day. But the Virat Kohli led side bounced back strongly to win the next two matches to bag the series by a 2-1 margin.
“Last time, Chandimal scored 160-odd in the first Test and then I also took some wickets. But this time, Indian batting is very strong.Whatever happened in the recent past doesn’t count now.”
“We’re starting another new series. We need to start well, especially in the first game. Even we have a game plan for each and every single Indian player,” he said.
He concluded by saying that he is expecting a good pitch at Galle which will help both the teams.
“I think it’s a pretty good pitch. I am sure it will help both teams. But even I don’t think there will be much for the spinners on the first two days. May be, on days four and five,” Herath concluded.