Herath lauds clinical India

Sri Lanka stand-in skipper Rangana Herath has given India all the credit for their massive win over his team in the First Test at Galle.
India sealed a 304 run win, their largest win away from home, on day four of the first Test after bowling the hosts out for 245.
Herath was dejected and felt his team were better than the performance they put in.
He told the press after the loss: “You can’t be satisfied with a defeat. We bowled badly, fielded badly and batted badly in the first innings. We are a better team than that. We need to find out how we can do better than this moving forward.
“When you lose a game you are disappointed. But having said that, all credit to India for the way they played. They played outstanding cricket in all three departments. They deserve all the credit.”
Sri Lanka were hit hard by injury with Asela Gunaratne getting injured on day one and being unable to bat or bowl in the match.
Herath himself got injured in the field and did not bat in the second innings while skipper Dinesh Chandimal missed the Test through injury but could return for the second Test.
The veteran spinner went on: “Losing Asela was a massive blow for us and he will be out for eight weeks. He has been scoring lot of runs for us in the last few months. He wasn’t available to bat or bowl and that was a huge blow for us.
“I had swelling because I had fracture three years ago in the same area. About Dinesh Chandimal, there’s no confirmation, but I expect him to play the next game.”
Herath lamented the failure to execute their plans in particular when bowling to India opener Shikhar Dhawan.
He said: “We had a few plans for him [Dhawan] but we failed to execute. If you take for example we allowed him too much of width. In the first session of the match itself the game started slipping away from us.
“We bounced back well but he had by then got off to a terrific start. Some of our plans went very well but we were not 100 per cent perfect. That’s the reason they went onto post 600 runs in their first innings.”
The stand-in skipper criticized the Galle pitch which he felt was too batsman-friendly.
He continued: “I told before the game too that this pitch will help batsmen a lot. Having said that, I expected the spinners to come into the equation in the fourth or fifth day. But this wicket didn’t have much help for spinners either.
“Our wickets are different from each other. We expect a bit of turn in Galle. But there’s no point in blaming anyone after you lose. The plain truth is that we didn’t play well and we are to be blamed.”
Latest
-
News
Brave decision looks familiar for David Warner in The Hundred
The Australia opener rejoins Southern Brave for the inaugural competition.
-
News
Chris Gayle could make dramatic West Indies return
Former captain Chris Gayle is set to be included in the West Indies squad for the first time in two years when they take on Sri Lanka.
-
News
What can we expect from the day-night third Test between India and England?
The penultimate contest of the series gets under way in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
-
News
Virat Kohli confident India have the answers to pink ball questions
The third Test at Ahmedabad will be a day-night contest.
-
News
Joe Root pondering unleashing James Anderson and Stuart Broad in third Test
England’s all-time top two Test wicket-takers have only taken to the field together seven times in the last two years.
-
News
Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight lead England to victory over NZ in first ODI
The triumph puts England 1-0 up in the three-match series.
-
News
Nicholas Pooran and Kagiso Rabada among 10 new arrivals at Manchester Originals
The likes of Jamie Overton, Harry Gurney, and Steven Finn were also snapped up by the Originals for The Hundred.
-
News
Bouncer law changes among hot topics on MCC agenda
The bouncer as we know it could soon cease to exist in top-level, following a virtual MCC meeting on Monday.
-
News
Kate Cross says it’s ‘amazing’ to break another boundary with The Hundred opener
The England international will be part of the Manchester Originals line-up.
-
News
Today in 2010: Brett Lee announces retirement from Test cricket
The Australia fast bowler ended his Test career with 310 wickets from 76 matches.