Niroshan Dickwella : Our approach wasn't right in the first innings
Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman admitted that team’s approach during the first inning was not right and they made plans to overcome from that situation. After losing the Galle Test, Sri Lankan team are still searching for a win but their batting order collapsed in just 183 runs in the first innings.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s centuries helped India post a huge total of 622 runs in the first innings. Sri Lanka prepared a batting-friendly pitch in Galle Test which resulted in a big loss. Keeping that in mind, they prepared a spin-friendly pitch for Colombo Test but it also cost them as Ravichandran Ashwin showed them why he is one of the top spinners in the world. In the first innings of Sri Lanka, he bowls 16.4 overs and took 5 wickets which helped India wrap up the host in just 183 runs.
"We weren't good in the first session. We had plans before the second innings started, on how to handle spin and how to handle pressure, how to play the new ball, etc. It was a long meeting during the lunch break and we executed those plans very well," Dickwella said at the post-match press conference as reported by PTI.
In the Sri Lanka’s first innings, Dickwella was the highest scorer as he contributed 51 runs.Â
"The wicket has no issues. Our approach wasn't right in the first innings, but we had a chat before the second innings and it paid off. We had sweep shot as one of our options. We didn't want to sweep so early. After the first innings, we had a different approach and that paid off for us," Dickwella said.
After collapsing in the first innings, Sri Lanka started well in the second innings. Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne stitched together a 191-run partnership to take Sri Lanka to 209 for 2 at the end of the third day in their second innings.
"We didn't handle the situation properly early on. We should have settled down a bit, but we didn't. We could have settled down like in the evening session. We were more positive after lunch. I played my normal game," said Dickwella.
"I swept about 80 percent of my shots. We were training hard on sweeps and reverse sweeps. Hashan Tillakaratne and other coaches are specifically speaking about the sweep shots and encouraging us to do that. We are improving with the sweeps," he added.
"They (Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis) both are great players. They executed the plans and used the crease and swept well. Mendis has been a brilliant player in his small career.
"We had a plan and we executed them well and that's the reason why we are 209 for two," Dickwella signed off.
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