Sri Lanka's Spinners Bowled Well On Their Day And India Played Into Their Hands: Muttiah Muralitharan
Updated - 24 Jul 2021, 03:51 AM
Former Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan opened up on the national team’s bowling performance as they dismissed India for 225 after losing the toss in the third ODI in Colombo. Sri Lanka‘s spinners spun a web around India’s middle-order, turning things around after the tourists’ blazing start. While he acknowledged the home side’s efforts, Muttiah Muralitharan also stated that India played into their hands.
India, who started breezily, looked on track for over 300 until rain halted their progress. India restarted at 147-3 from 23 overs. However, in the next 24 overs, the visitors kept crumbling to spinners Akila Dananjaya and Praveen Jayawickrama as they shared six wickets between them. Later, Avishka Fernando struck 76 off 98 deliveries as the hosts romped home despite a wobble.
When asked whether Sri Lanka missed a trick by not playing the spinners in the last two games, Muttiah Muralitharan stated it’s hard to put it that way. The 49-year old feels Sri Lanka’s spinners bowled well on the day; however, India’s batters played into their hands. Muralitharan pointed out that there was a stark difference between how India dealt with the spinners in the first 23 overs and after that. He hailed Dananjaya and Jayawickrama for allowing the pitch to do the things and keeping it simple.
“It’s difficult to say, it’s a chance. You can’t say, these bowlers didn’t play and that if they would have played, it would’ve been better. It’s difficult to say that. On the day, they bowled well and India played into their hands because the first 23 overs, they were dealt with very differently by the batsmen. Akila was playing for the team for a long time, this boy has come new, he has a simple technique, bowl line and length, let the pitch do, and the batsmen do. So that’s the way he does the work. So, I think these bowlers bowled well,” Muralitharan told ESPN Cricinfo.
Nobody gave many loose balls to get away: Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan also lauded the rest of the bowlers for backing the spinners well and not delivering too many pressure-releasing balls. The 132-Test veteran underlined that Lakshan Sandakan kept bowling loose deliveries in the previous games, allowing the Indian batsmen to get away. However, he stated that the home side maintained the discipline in the third ODI.
“Also, I think the fast bowlers and the others backed up. So, nobody gave many loose balls to get away. Because other matches, I remember even when the wickets were falling, Sandakan gave loose balls and gave the batsmen a sniff to step it out. In this match, they kept it as tight as possible and didn’t give a sniff to India,” he added.
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