Praveen has a little bit of Herath in him: Karunaratne 

Sri Lanka Captain Dimuth Karunaratne showered praise on his inexperienced spin bowlers Praveen Jayawickrama and Ramesh Mendis for bowling his team to a series clinching 209-run win over Bangladesh in the second Test concluded at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Left-arm spinner Jayawickrama ended up with match figures of 11/178 and Mendis 6/189 as they totally flattened the Bangladesh batsmen, getting them out for totals of 251 and 227.

“I am really happy with their performance. At a time when we didn’t have anyone experienced, they came and bowled like experienced players, and performed their roles as they should,” said Karunaratne at the virtual post-match press conference. 

“Ramesh can improve a little bit more in terms of his lines and lengths and the way he builds pressure. But Praveen did his job 100%. He played like a bowler who had more than his 10 first-class matches. It’s a great sign for the future of our Test cricket.”

“The seniors just gave them confidence. Some players can panic at times when they come into the Test arena, because they try a lot of things. What we tried to tell them was to play as if they would, a regular first-class game, and to handle the pressure that way. Praveen absorbed pressure really well and did all that. Ramesh could improve that a little bit. But it’s also his second Test, and when he gets to 15-20 Tests, he’ll be able to get the hang of all that,” continued Karunaratne. 

What was exceptional about Jayawickrama’s bowling? According to his skipper, he keeps things simple.

“He does the simple things well. He pitches the ball in the right spot. That’s something we saw from Rangana Herath as well. He makes the batsman play, and gives the ball a chance to do something,” explained Karunaratne. 

“When you play at this level, you have to have that consistency in line and length. That was his secret. I think Ramesh also gave him a lot of help from the other end, in terms of building pressure. That bowling partnership was good, and they had an understanding because they also play for the same club (Moors SC).” 

Apart from the two spinners, the Lankan batsmen also made big contributions in the series, led by the Captain himself, who scored a double hundred and a hundred in back-to-back Tests.

“The batsmen all got amongst the runs in the first match – even the players who had been struggling. That’s a big mental boost for a batsman. In any series, you have a lot more confidence when you have runs under your belt,” said Karunaratne. 

“Even in the England series, we failed twice, but on a turning track we passed 300 twice as well. In the West Indies, we did a lot of good things. It’s not an easy place to bat, with the Dukes ball being used. But we fixed our mindset and worked on our temperament and patience. I think that’s why we were able to make big scores in this series – Dhananjaya’s (de Silva) 160, and Thiri’s (Lahiru Thirimanne) 140. We knew that we needed a big score on the board in the first innings to win a match, so that was playing on our minds. We took responsibility.”

About his personal form and contribution in the series Karunaratne said: “There were some minor changes. I didn’t change my technique, but my approach, I changed a bit. I think my playing style in the West Indies was a little too aggressive for an opener. In some series you can be aggressive, but in the West Indies I took a few wrong options. After two or three failures, I asked the coach about what my mistakes were, and we had a constructive discussion. He said my technique is good, but my approach needs fixing. So, I did what he said and saw out the first 10-15 overs, leaving the ball as much as possible. I had some success in the last innings in the West Indies, and I brought that approach here. Even if the opposition changes, because my approach was consistent, I was able to make big scores.” 

Even for the Head Coach Mickey Arthur it was a huge relief to see Sri Lanka finally produce a win after suffering series defeats at the hands of Pakistan, South Africa and England.

“Mickey gives players a lot of mental confidence. Even when I was failing in the West Indies, he was the one to speak to me. The things he says are very valuable to players. He speaks to youngsters and seniors the same way. That’s really helpful because at this level, it’s the mental side of your game that you need to get right. We have a lot of support from him,” said Karunaratne.

Bangladesh’s Captain Mominul Haque said the toss played a crucial role in deciding the result of the Test.

“I think the most important thing in this Test match was the toss, in my view. Almost 50% of the Test match was decided by the toss,” said Mominul. 

“The first two days there wasn’t anything for the bowlers. The conditions were similar to Bangladesh, other than the humidity, with which we were struggling a bit. When you play international cricket, there will be pressure, and you have to embrace it. We lost this Test in the first innings when we were bowled out for 250. We should have batted better then.” – (ST)