Talent is one significant aspect that develops and transforms an individual’s career. However, the ability on its own is nothing without the proper execution and application.
For Dinesh Chandimal, the win at Abu Dhabi is memorable for more than one reason alone. Apart from his tactically brilliant leadership which won Sri Lanka the Test, it was his marathon knock in the first innings which set the tone.
Right from the first day of the game, Chandimal adapted brilliantly to the conditions, and with the pitch initially being unresponsive and dead slow, he made the most out of the conditions. His knock of 155 from 372 deliveries ensured that it drained a lot from the Pakistanis as it will a perfect application of the good old attritional cricket.
With the win being a major one for Sri Lanka, Chandimal was praised colossally by his team manager and former batsman, Asanka Gurusinha.
“That’s a real Test innings, and a captain’s knock,” Gurusinha said. “It’s not just occupying the crease, but the way he batted and the way he built partnerships with a couple of players to get us to that score was remarkable. He led from the front, and that is the leadership that we are looking from Chandi and he is giving us tenfold.”
Another positive for Sri Lanka was the attacking stroke play of Niroshan Dickwella, who in recent times has emerged as a rock for Sri Lanka.
“We had a nice long chat with Niroshan in Colombo. We told him that he is immensely talented and an important cog in the wheel. He threw away his wicket against India so many times but still he scored a lot of runs.” “We wanted him to score those big runs as he is very capable of doing it,” he added.
“He changed his mindset and worked hard with our coaches Hashan Tillakaratne and Nic Pothas. Then he came up with his own plans. He is much focussed, keen to achieve and knows that he has a bright future ahead of him. He is showing maturity.”