I always back the guys to come in and put up a fight, says Jason Holder
Jason Holder insisted that he always believed in his team and backed them to put up partnerships, after victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Shane Dowrich was adjudged as the Man-of-the-Match for his knock of unbeaten 125, which helped his team reach a match-winning total of 414.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder praised his team for putting up a solid performance in tough conditions after his team registered a comprehensive 226-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Port-of-Spain. He insisted that he always had belief in his bowlers that they would be able to do the job on the last day of the Test match.Â
"Everyone in this team deserves enormous credit for the way we battled through on a pitch that wasnât the easiest, I wasnât worried coming into this final day because the pitch was deteriorating a bit and I just felt our bowlers had to build a bit of pressure and we would be able to strike, and when we struck we got wickets in clusters,â Jason Holder said after the game as quoted by News 18.Â
Holder also appreciated the impressive innings from Shane Dowrich, who scored unbeaten 125 and Devendra Bishoo, who scored 40, which turned the match on its head and gave West Indians the required edge in the match. Â
"I always back the guys to come in and put up a partnership and put up a fight. It really started with the partnership that Shane and I had, and then Devendra came in and played an outstanding knock. Not only did he take time out of the game, he scored runs as well. That not only took time out of the game, it wore down the Sri Lankan bowlers and made it tough for them. I was always backing our guys to get us up to a really good score," said the West Indian skipper.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich, who was adjudged as the man-of-the-match for a fine unbeaten 125 in the first innings, after West Indies were reduced to 147/5, said he was hoping to be more consistent in his performances.Â
âConsistency is something I have been striving for because I want to score runs in every game. I just wanted to stick to the basics and make the most of all my preparation coming into this series, and it worked out for me,â he said.
Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal rued the missed chances in the first innings and said that the team needed to bounce back in the second innings.
"I think our fielding was below par in the first innings when we dropped some important catches. We need to learn from our mistakes and regroup quickly for the next match. We can take positives - Kusal's knock, was brilliant as a youngster - and also Kumara bowled well in both innings. Credit goes to West Indies, they played some outstanding cricket over five days. Dananjaya de Silva batted at No. 3 last few series and played some great knocks, so if he feels good, we may play him. We'll see how it goes,â said Chandimal after a disappointing performance from Sri Lanka.Â
