Thisara was omnipresent: Hashan Tillakaratne

Thisara Perera 

By Shamseer Jaleel reporting from Hambantota

Kandy Tuskers who had things well under their belt lost the grip and the game due to a magical knock by Jaffna’s Thisara Perera. He played a magnificent knock which took Kandy their second win away from them and pushed them to fourth place in the five-team Lanka Premier League which is currently taking place at the Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) in Hambantota. 

Jaffna remained unbeaten, winning all three of their matches and top the standings, while Colombo are in second place with Dambulla third. The last spot is occupied by the Galle Gladiators outfit who have failed to win any of their three games so far.

Speaking to Daily FT, Kandy Tuskers Head Coach and former Sri Lankan Test player Hashan Tillakaratne said: “We are very disappointed. After winning the third game against Galle, expected a lot from the boys. Our fielding and batting was far below our standards. We wavered in our lines in the second half of the Jaffna innings. We kept them under control in the first 10 overs giving away only 50 runs. But in the end due to poor bowling we gifted 135 runs. We gave away nearly 25 to 30 runs more than expected. We lost the grip in the end where we could have kept them well below 160 had we played according to the plan.

“Fair to Thisara he played a brilliant knock which took the game away from us. He milked the ball beautifully and his shots showed the character of a very good batsman and an outstanding leader. Their fielding too was well above average. But we bowled to his strengths not his weaknesses. The other point was that none of the non-strikers helped Asela Gunaratne when he was set to play a good innings. They only needed to support him. But he ran out of partners at regular intervals, and lost his focus too due to this. You cannot build up an innings due to this.”

Tillakaratne ended saying: “We are still in with a chance for a semi-final berth. After yesterday’s rest we will bounce back with our second round matches, which commences today with a game against Colombo under lights. Had we batted the full quota of 20 overs we could have improved our nett run rate in the end which will be a yard stick if the teams are tied with equal number of points. Our South African fast bowler, Dale Steyn is likely to play in our last few games in round two. Losing out on Sohail Tanvir too is a big blow to the team and its bowling line up.”