Muttiah Muralitharan Unimpressed With Mickey Arthur's Body Language And Facial Expressions Amid Sri Lanka's Defeat
Published - 21 Jul 2021, 05:48 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:50 AM
Former Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan criticized the national team’s head coach Mickey Arthur for his controversial body language during the second ODI against India in Colombo. Mickey Arthur kept expressing his frustration as the match kept slipping away from Sri Lanka‘s grasp when a win looked likely. Muttiah Muralitharan believes the coach should have tried sending some encouraging messages.
India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they made a match after being six down, chasing 275 in 50 overs. Sri Lanka delivered a much better batting performance in the second ODI even though they failed to capitalize on the 77-run opening stand. Charith Asalanka top-scored with 65, while Chamika Karunaratne chipped in with 44.
Deepak Chahar arrived at the crease when India were struggling at 160-6 as the visitors lost most of their star batsmen. The Rajasthan-born cricketer added 33 runs off 49 balls with Krunal Pandya, followed by a run a ball 84-run partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It was predictably a tough loss to digest for the hosts, who hoped to arrest their losing streak even after consigning India to seven down.
Sri Lanka have forgotten the winning ways: Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan started by expressing his thoughts on Mickey Arthur, who constantly expressed his frustration with his facial gestures. The 49-year old believes that Sri Lanka has lost the winning formula since the last few years, struggling to win consistently. Muralitharan feels that it should have been a comfortable win for India after reducing India to seven down and sees a tough future ahead of them.
“I think the coach was acting like, showing himself disappointed and everything, rather than just calm down and send some messages. I told you before, Sri Lanka didn’t know the winning ways, they have forgotten the winning ways for the last so many years. It has been tough for them because they have not (known) how to win a match. Seven wickets gone, one wicket and match would have been sealed but they didn’t know the winning ways, they have forgotten, it is a hard time for Sri Lankan cricket to come to winning ways,” Muralitharan told ESPN Cricinfo.
