Winning a Test series in India is considered by many players as the final frontier, and veteran Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath is no different.
But unlike others, the spin spearhead is not eyeing a series win in the Indian subcontinent and is only harbouring hopes of winning a Test match against Virat Kohli & Co., as the Islanders are gearing for the three-Test series later this month.
“It’s one of my dreams. How wonderful it would be to win a Test match in India as we have never won there before,” Herath told Cricbuzz.
Herath is Sri Lanka’s biggest weapon in the upcoming three-Test series, and the left-arm spinner has warmed up for the series in style. The 29-year old, who recently became the first left-arm spinner to take 400 Test wickets, took a staggering 16 wickets in the recent two-match series against Pakistan which helped the Islanders to stun the hosts in both the Tests.
“The series win in Pakistan has given us lot of confidence. That winning mentality is important. If we show the same fighting spirit that we showed against Pakistan, we can win in India,” he said.
With India doing so well in international cricket at the moment, Herath credited India’s first-class structure for preparing the players well for the rigours of international cricket.
“They have [a] lot of experience. They have an excellent first-class structure in India. If you take the Ranji Trophy, it prepares their players to play those big innings. It teaches their bowlers to think of different options when bowling on flat wickets. Whereas, we don’t have those challenges. Only at ‘A’ team cricket, our players are prepared for those challenges,” Herath said.
Meanwhile, the hopes of achieving a series-win in India which even the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan could not do is not going to be easy for Herath and Sri Lanka. The Islanders were whitewashed in the three-Test series at home a couple of months ago by Virat Kohli & Co. and needed to play out of their skin to stun the world number one side.
Just like his team, Herath struggled too, managing a just five wickets in two Tests before missing the last game due to an injury.
Speaking about that series, he said:
“The India series at home, I wasn’t able to take wickets. All of us struggled. We were not able to break the partnerships, and they went on to post 600-plus runs and from there on it was difficult for us. We missed a few chances as well. We need to plan as to what we have to do to get those 20 wickets.”
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