Tuesday Jul 08, 2025
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Kusal Mendis
Wicket-keeper/batsman Kusal Mendis said that Sri Lanka were planning to bat Bangladesh out of the Test by getting a first innings lead of 150-200.
Addressing the media at the end of the second day of the second Test at the SSC Grounds, Mendis said: “We are not looking into going for the fourth innings. We intend to bat deep and put them under pressure. We are planning to score as much as possible—get something over 400, and I hope we do that.”
“I believe that when we head into Day Four, conditions will be much different to what we have here. It will turn more as the game goes on. If you see, the grass has also become dry. There are footmarks as well.”
On Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten knock of 146, Mendis said: “He has been a treat to watch. He batted so well. In the last tour also, he was amongst runs. Shame he missed out on a double hundred in Galle. I hope he does it here. He has been our in-form batter in all three formats. He works hard in his game and it’s there to be seen.”
Nissanka and Lahiru Udara gave Sri Lanka a firm foundation to build their innings with a stand of 88 for the first wicket.
“It is very vital that we get a good start. When you have a partnership by the openers, it is easier for the middle order. It is something that hasn’t happened in recent games.”
On debutant Sonal Dinusha, Mendis said: “He first came into the scene when I was captaining CCC. He came to the CCC soon after school and has done really well. He has done well for Sri Lanka ‘A’ also. There is a lot of pressure playing Test cricket rather than T20s or ODIs. He showed a lot of maturity. Great to have a player like him in the squad. Very pleased for him.”
West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons said that Bangladesh missed the trick on the opening day of the Test by not building partnerships.
“As a result, we went into today with only two or three wickets in hand. It comes back to our batting and the partnerships we failed to build. At least two or three guys should have carried on yesterday [first day] and gotten big scores. I hope we’ve taken note of how well Nissanka batted, and that we come out in the second innings aiming for big runs.”
“It was a hard day of Test cricket. On the first day, it was a bit sticky and slightly two-paced. Today, it got a lot better, and we saw how easy it was for the batters. There wasn’t as much turn as yesterday, and the batters batted well. We struggled to get wickets, which is expected on a good surface, so it was a difficult day for the bowlers. That’s what Test cricket is about sometimes.”
“We’ll come back tomorrow, assess how the wicket is behaving, and make sure we start in the right areas — not like how we began this morning, but a lot better — and put ourselves in a position to take wickets.” – [ST]
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