It is s -evident that wining the toss and bowling first was a central factor in this victory. Rumesh Ratnayake was savvy enough to note this, but va idly praised the pace trio’s efforts. Michael Roberts
Rex Clementine: “Ratnayake praises fast bowlers’ effort,” Island, 13 December 2017
Sri Lanka’s Fast Bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake has praised the efforts of his bowlers that enabled Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series against India. Spearheaded by Suranga Lakmal, the seamers did a fine job to bowl out India for 112 runs in Dharamsala on Sunday and the tourists went on to secure a seven-wicket win.
“That was an excellent spell by Suranga. One of the best I have seen by a fast bowler. The conditions were good, yes, but it is a matter of bowling in the right areas. I thought Angelo Mathews did a superb job as well. Support was excellent for Suranga to do what he did. When Angelo finished, we had Nuwan Pradeep coming in and keeping up the pressure. That helped him to bowl the ten overs off,” Ratnayake, who took over from Chaminda Vaas as Fast Bowling coach in September told journalists.
“We were at one point wondering whether to take him off after seven overs. I had a quick chat with him and he was ready to finish his ten overs in one go although he was not feeling all that well. He was willing because he was pumped up,” Ratnayake added.
Ratnayake is upbeat the best of Lakmal is yet to come. “I don’t think we are seeing the best of Suranga Lakmal consistently. It is a matter of him coming out of some niggles. He has a few niggles, but a big heart. He understands what timing is and what rhythm is. Once he gets rid of injuries I am sure he will be more consistent.”
Ratnayake has played a lot of cricket against India and was the hero in Sri Lanka’s maiden Test win over Kapil Dev’s side having taken nine wickets at P. Sara Oval in 1985. Sri Lanka will create history today if they are able to win the game as this will be their first-ever series win over India.
“We will take the confidence of the last match. We have to forget the last match now and move forward. We will try to win the processes, those small battles and then the result will come,” he noted.
II =Thisara Perera: “If we play like we did in Dharamsala we will win series” ….Daily News, 13 december 2017
MOHALI, Tuesday – Captain Thisara Perera believes if Sri Lanka produce a repeat of the Dharamsala performance against India in Mohali, they will win the three-match ODI series.
Sri Lanka produced a near flawless performance in Dharamsala and the captain is expecting an encore from his team in the second ODI to win a maiden series in India.
“It is a good opportunity to win the series. Not many teams have won series in India. We want to do something special like we did in Dharamsala,” Perera said on the eve of the second match of the three-ODI series.
Adverse weather conditions in Dharamsala meant Sri Lanka had to spend an extra night in the hills and only arrived on Tuesday morning.
They arrived at the PCA Stadium late afternoon and practiced amid cold and overcast conditions.
Asked if there is an added pressure on the Sri Lankan team, Perera replied in the negative. “It is not pressure. It is another game for us. Everyone knows if we win on Wednesday we will win the series. We will give our 200 per cent,” the all-rounder said before hinting that they would go with the same XI that beat India by seven wickets in the series opener.
The visitors are a confident lot, having ended their 12-match losing run in Dharamsala but they expect India to come back harder, just like they did against New Zealand last month after losing the opening game of the three-match series. “Yes they can but we are focused on our job. It was good to win after 12 losses and we know if we can repeat that performance, we will win on Wednesday,” said Perera.
The Sri Lankan captain has the experience of playing at this ground, having represented Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. “It looks like a good batting track,” he said referring to the surface, which was covered for major part of the day due to overnight rain.
Talking about the squad, Perera said only Dhananjaya de Silva has fitness issues.