West Indies coach Roger Harper was confidant his side could comeback with a good performance in the second Test at Kandy starting on Wednesday, but admits that the side need to find a way to counter off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
"We came into the Galle Test without much cricket at all. Having said that, we've got five days of Test cricket under our belts. We know exactly what we are up against here. I think that mentally we will be more prepared, more focused on what we have to do to give ourselves a chance of doing well in Kandy," said Harper.
"I think losing three wickets in the first session was a big set back for us and one from which we never really recovered. We have to look at the mistakes we made and look at the areas we can improve. One of the things we noted from this game especially, in the first innings was that the batsmen got starts and didn't convert them into big totals. When you look at the Sri Lankan scorecard, they had a 99, 140 and 105.
"We have to try and make sure that the guys who get in really put something big on the board. We cannot afford to allow the opposition to score quickly especially at the start of their innings. We pulled it back on the fourth day quite a bit, but at the start of their innings they managed to score a bit too quickly," he said.
Harper said that Muralitharan taking 11 West Indies wickets was nothing compared to the 361 wickets he's already got.
"The point I am trying to make is that he is an outstanding bowler and competing against him on these wickets you know you are gonna have a tough time. We have to look at how to counter him. We've been working on that," said Harper.
He said the present West Indies team was much fitter and prepared to work hard on their mistakes. "They showed commitment throughout the time they were on the field," said Harper.
The good news for West Indies is that fast bowler Reon King will be fit for the second Test at Kandy. "The doctor has given him the all clear to continue playing. He shouldn't have any problems," said Harper.
© Cricinfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka, West Indies. |
| Players/Umpires | Roger Harper, Muttiah Muralitharan. |
| Tours | West Indies in Sri Lanka |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Results - Forthcoming Desktop Scoreboard |
|
|
|
||||||
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
|
