Didn't expect Test to get over by Day 3, batters need to put their hand up: Karunaratne
Mar 06, 2022
Mohali (Punjab) [India], March 6 : Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne on Sunday said that nobody in his side expected that the first Test against India would get over within three days.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged four wickets each in 2nd innings, as India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in the first Test.
"We never thought it would finish by day three. The batters need to put their hands up and bat longer innings. When you are playing against India you have to capitalize on the starts, it was easy to bat on this track, once you get in you have to score big. We backed ourselves (by playing the extra seamer). We thought the wicket would crack open and is going to be up and down," Karunaratne told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
"If we had bowled better then we could have restricted them. We were too defensive or too aggressive with the bat, need to get a balance between both by rotating the strike and that's how you play a big innings. As a batting unit, we have to put our hands up and score big. We did well for the first two sessions but could not execute when the ball got old and those are things we need to work on," he added.
Sri Lanka batters were disappointed with the bat in the entire Test, scoring just 174 and 178 in the match. No batter showed any sort of grit with the bat and this resulted in the Islanders suffering a mammoth defeat.
Jadeja was the star of the show as he scored 175 in the first innings and he went on to take nine wickets in the match.
India and Sri Lanka will now lock horns in a day-night Test, beginning March 12 in Bengaluru.
