Thisara Perera Lauds Bowlers and Terms Dharamsala Surface ‘Unplayable’
Published - 10 Dec 2017, 07:58 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:46 PM
For Sri Lanka, the first win in the Dharamsala of the three-match series opener against India came after the recent 12 losses overall in the 50-over format which eventually has oozed some sort of a confidence within Sri Lankan camp, as their skipper has accredited the success of the bowlers for bowling in the right line while making things difficult for the Indian batting line-up after winning the toss.
“Firstly we need to give 200 percent credit to our bowlers; they did everything right for us, bowling in the right lines and length,” Perera told at the post-match press conference.
(Read Also: Rejuvenated Sri Lanka Drubs India in Dharamsala ODI)
The 28-year-old Colombo-born Perera, who himself bowled 4.2 overs to pick the solitary wicket of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was the top scorer for India with 65 off 87 balls.
The all-rounder Perera following the disciplined and all-rounder performance has expressed satisfaction to see bowlers delivering goods while adding he was taken by surprise and didn’t expect the wicket doing too much.
“Their discipline was excellent and that was the reason for our success. This is an unplayable wicket, we did not expect this,” Perera said.
Perera revealed he was expecting to witness the score of around maximum of 260 which further saw the Lions bowlers not only contain the hosts’ batters but went on to claim wickets at regular intervals.
“We thought around 250-260 but when we were bowling itself we realized that we had to keep them under 220,” Perera revealed.
After deciding to bowl first, Lions strangulated Men in Blue on 112 in 38.2 overs, as Suranga Lakmal was the pick of the bowlers who completed his figures with four for 13 in his quota of 10 overs.
“I thought Lakmal did perfectly for us in the Test series and now is carrying it forward in the ODIs. He’s the number one fast bowler for us at the moment,” Perera heaped praises on his teammate and bowling spearhead Lakmal.
(Read Further: IND vs SL 2017, 1st ODI: Twitter Reacts as Lakmal Heroics Jolt India Early On)
While talking about the senior campaigner and left-handed opening batsman Upul Tharanga, who was the top scorer for Sri Lanka, Perera acknowledged his innings while reiterated he had given a solid start to make things easier for others.
“I have to mention Upul, he gave the best start and he is one of the best openers,” Perera said of Tharanga.
Tharanga scored 46-ball 49 as his innings saw him scoring 40 runs of boundaries.
Perera believes things have gone well in visitors’ way – to cherish this win after a prolonged gap.
“Our batsmen have been doing well over the last couple of months but without success. All in all, everything worked for us today,” Perera explained.
The wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella (26 off 24) remained unbeaten alongside Angelo Mathews (25 off 42), as they chased down the target of 113 in 20.4 overs.
About the Author
Tahir Ibn Manzoor is the Editor-In-Chief at Cricket Addictor, who follows cricket like food and he h... Read more
