Jayasuriya: It was a good team effort
Rex Clementine - 15 August 2001
After Sri Lanka ended the second day in the first Test of the three
Test series at the Galle International Stadium well on top, Sri Lankan
captain Sanath Jayasuriya declared it as a total team effort by his
side. "It was a good overall team effort. I am happy that we managed
to bowl them out for less than 200. It was crucial to get them out
before too long," said Jayasuriya.
"After getting the cream of the Indian batting out yesterday, we
wanted to just to finish them off under 200 and the bowlers did just
that," remarked the Sri Lankan captain.
Dilhara Fernando made life difficult for the Indian batsmen by
finishing with a five-wicket haul. Jayasuriya's side in the recent
past has depended on Muralitharan a lot in the bowling department, but
today Fernando rose to the occasion,
"It was a grassy wicket and conditions were ideal for a bowler like
Dilhara. So he made use of the conditions and things went on really
well for us," said Jayasuriya.
After the wonderful display in the field, the Sri Lankans had to bat
well to end the day on top. Their batsmen did just that and Sri Lanka
ended gaining considerable advantage, "After the good performance
with the ball it was the responsibility of the batsmen to do well and
I thought all of us batted well."
Jayasuriya himself ended the day with a century and, analyzing the
Indian bowling, he said, "Srinath bowled well in his first spell. We
knew we had to see him off in his initial burst and then when I was in
the middle I got a lot of width from both sides of the wicket and I
thought of making the most of the opportunities."
Harbhajan Singh picked up the first Sri Lankan wicket but failed to
put the brakes on the Sri Lankan batsmen despite bowling a marathon
spell of 27 overs. "He's a good bowler. You can't underestimate him.
He's the type of bowler who can really turn the ball. More than him
making any mistakes, I thought we handled him well," remarked
Jayasuriya.
Though Sri Lanka ended the day in a good position, Sri Lankan coach,
Dav Whatmore cautioned his players. "You haven't won a Test Match
until you have really won it. What we are trying to do is to get a
good advantage and then try and extend that advantage. It's a very
tricky pitch and batting last on this track will be very difficult, so
there's a lot to play for tomorrow."
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