BAN vs SL, 2018: We want to carry the momentum forward - Upul Tharanga

Sri Lanka got back to winning ways as they won the One-day International Tri-series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and also won the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka had a poor win record in 2017.

Sri Lanka won just five out 29 ODI’s they played in 2017.

However, they have started 2018 in a better way winning both the series. Bangladesh have looked a much stronger team than Sri Lanka and have had an edge over them but the Lankans have bounced back in order to gain the same supremacy they have had over them in the past years.

Sri Lankan team has struggled on the field and more importantly, they have been struggling with injuries to some of their key players.

Moreover, Sri Lanka have tried multiple captains in the past to get the combination of their side right but eventually struggled.

However, this time they seem to have got their decision right as the team has got back to winning ways.

Veteran Islanders opening batsman Upul Tharanga has said that the team is looking forward to carry the confidence forward in the T20 series.

Tharanga said, “We have done well so far in the one-day tournament and the Test series also, so we have confidence. We’ve got new faces for the T20. We’ve got good momentum. We want to carry that forward. Everyone is looking forward to it. This series is also very important for us as a team. We haven’t been consistent in the last one-and-a-half to two years. We’ve hopes of finishing the series very well.”  

Upul Tharanga also expressed hopes of getting good playing surfaces for the T20I series after many questions were raised over the quality of pitches during the tri-nation tournament and also the Test series.

He said, “We can’t be sure of it [wicket] until tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be a good wicket. In the one-day series also we got different wickets. In the first two games, the wicket was good, then in the later part of the series, wickets are getting really slow. In the Test match also, we got a bowling track. We hope for a really good wicket tomorrow.” 

Tharanga also said that with Bangladesh Premier League his team understands the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition:

“If you take our team, a few of the players have been playing BPL. We’ve got an idea of how they are doing. They are new to the side and have done well during the BPL. We have seen a few videos about them. We’ve got an idea about them. Main thing is about wicket and conditions. We’ve played with a few Bangladeshi players, so we know what they are capable of. It’s going to help both sides. They also know what we can do.”

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