Sri Lanka’s new Test captain Dinesh Chandimal said that his team badly needed the win against Zimbabwe ahead of the tough series against India that starts later this month.
“What we wanted was this win. Today we got that. The players’ mental state is in a good place. The Indian series is a big challenge. But we have plans, and we’ll keep making plans, as to how to play against India,” said Chandimal after leading his team to a four wicket win in his first Test as captain.
“My biggest goal is the mentality to win every match. We need to have a good attitude to go from match to match. I gave responsibilities to all the players – whether they were juniors or seniors. Everyone can have good ideas. Even at team meetings, we gave them the room to talk.
“We have a good start now. We saw the character of the team – how they picked themselves up. We have that mentality to achieve victory even when things look grim. My main goal is to win every game,” he said.
Before the start of the run chase in the fourth innings Chandimal said the team got together and had a chat.
”Most of what we talked about was playing your own game as batsmen. We knew that it was tough for us to bat out the time and draw the match. If we tried that, it was likely we’d lose. So we said: play your own game,” said Chandimal.
“As a captain I told them that I’d take the responsibility for any mistakes, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Kusal Mendis, Dimuth (Karunaratne) and Upul (Tharanga) played well then at the end, Asela and Dickwella were excellent,” he said.
On the morning of the final day Chandimal said that he had spoken to Asela Gunaratne who was handicapped by a hamstring injury and told him that he was going to get a hundred yesterday.
“But very confidently, Asela said to me: “No Chandi, there won’t be a reason for me to get a 100. I’ll get 70 and win the game.” That’s the kind of faith I expect from my players. There’s a chance he might not have been able to do that today, but the way he spoke, even I became confident as a captain that we could win this match. Those are good things. I’m really happy I have players like that,” said Chandimal.
Chandimal gave credit to Zimbabwe the way they stretched his team in the Test.
“Zimbabwe’s cricket has improved. Their batting is in a really good place. Also they had come with a good plan for this tour – that was really clear,” said Chandimal. “Even a bowler like Rangana Herath, who was bowling well at the time, they were not afraid to sweep and reverse sweep him. When that happens, it becomes very difficult for a bowler to put the ball in one spot. That is the biggest issue. But we also know who Rangana Herath is – he’s our hero. He took the wickets for us – as did Dilruwan. Even though Zimbabwe was being aggressive, they still got the wickets, even without Asela. I’m thankful to them both.”
Man of the match Gunaratne commenting on his injury stated that it was not a big one.
“I felt that my hamstring was tight. The physio also said it hasn’t torn. But I was ready to bat. I had it plastered, and didn’t bowl any overs or field. My inability to bowl was a big loss. My one goal was to rest and somehow take the team to victory,” said Gunaratne who put on a century stand with Dickwella to swing the Test Sri Lanka’s way after they had lost the two overnight batsmen early in the morning.
“Since he came to the crease, what Dickwella said was: “Talk to me all the time, and make me score runs.” I think what he meant was that he hasn’t scored a big Test innings, whereas I have. He just wanted me to tell him how to handle situations. Sometimes when the game was going a certain way, he wanted me to keep advising him. Occasionally I’d tell him not to go for certain shots. In the end, he stuck around and scored,” said Gunaratne.
“What we wanted was this win. Today we got that. The players’ mental state is in a good place. The Indian series is a big challenge. But we have plans, and we’ll keep making plans, as to how to play against India,” said Chandimal after leading his team to a four wicket win in his first Test as captain.
“My biggest goal is the mentality to win every match. We need to have a good attitude to go from match to match. I gave responsibilities to all the players – whether they were juniors or seniors. Everyone can have good ideas. Even at team meetings, we gave them the room to talk.
“We have a good start now. We saw the character of the team – how they picked themselves up. We have that mentality to achieve victory even when things look grim. My main goal is to win every game,” he said.
Before the start of the run chase in the fourth innings Chandimal said the team got together and had a chat.
”Most of what we talked about was playing your own game as batsmen. We knew that it was tough for us to bat out the time and draw the match. If we tried that, it was likely we’d lose. So we said: play your own game,” said Chandimal.
“As a captain I told them that I’d take the responsibility for any mistakes, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Kusal Mendis, Dimuth (Karunaratne) and Upul (Tharanga) played well then at the end, Asela and Dickwella were excellent,” he said.
On the morning of the final day Chandimal said that he had spoken to Asela Gunaratne who was handicapped by a hamstring injury and told him that he was going to get a hundred yesterday.
“But very confidently, Asela said to me: “No Chandi, there won’t be a reason for me to get a 100. I’ll get 70 and win the game.” That’s the kind of faith I expect from my players. There’s a chance he might not have been able to do that today, but the way he spoke, even I became confident as a captain that we could win this match. Those are good things. I’m really happy I have players like that,” said Chandimal.
Chandimal gave credit to Zimbabwe the way they stretched his team in the Test.
“Zimbabwe’s cricket has improved. Their batting is in a really good place. Also they had come with a good plan for this tour – that was really clear,” said Chandimal. “Even a bowler like Rangana Herath, who was bowling well at the time, they were not afraid to sweep and reverse sweep him. When that happens, it becomes very difficult for a bowler to put the ball in one spot. That is the biggest issue. But we also know who Rangana Herath is – he’s our hero. He took the wickets for us – as did Dilruwan. Even though Zimbabwe was being aggressive, they still got the wickets, even without Asela. I’m thankful to them both.”
Man of the match Gunaratne commenting on his injury stated that it was not a big one.
“I felt that my hamstring was tight. The physio also said it hasn’t torn. But I was ready to bat. I had it plastered, and didn’t bowl any overs or field. My inability to bowl was a big loss. My one goal was to rest and somehow take the team to victory,” said Gunaratne who put on a century stand with Dickwella to swing the Test Sri Lanka’s way after they had lost the two overnight batsmen early in the morning.
“Since he came to the crease, what Dickwella said was: “Talk to me all the time, and make me score runs.” I think what he meant was that he hasn’t scored a big Test innings, whereas I have. He just wanted me to tell him how to handle situations. Sometimes when the game was going a certain way, he wanted me to keep advising him. Occasionally I’d tell him not to go for certain shots. In the end, he stuck around and scored,” said Gunaratne.
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