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“We’re only looking at it from one match to another,” Dhananjaya said when asked about his side’s WTC final prospects. “If you look too far ahead you can miss out on what’s immediately important.
“It’s what I always tell the young players as well, if you do what’s required from one match to another, then what needs to happen in the points table will take care of itself.”
“The decision was taken at the right time because we all know that in Galle batting in the last hour is quite difficult. And I think it’s because of that decision that we were able to bowl them out the following morning.”
Kamindu Mendis on de Silva declaring when he was 182 not out
But despite that years-old connection, there was no room for sentiment when Dhananjaya called for a first-innings declaration with Kamindu 18 short of a maiden double century. Asked if he had been tempted to continue through till Kamindu reached the milestone, de Silva explained that it was not a decision he would take if it meant impacting the team negatively.
“More than Kamindu’s double hundred, I wanted Kusal Mendis to get a hundred because he hadn’t scored one in quite some time,” he said. “But once we got to that point in the match, I think that was the best decision to take.”
Kamindu, who sat beside his captain at the post-match press briefing, was quick to back up his skipper when questioned on the same.
“We had put a big total on the board, even at lunch I had 136. So the plan even then was to score a little bit more and then put them into bat,” Kamindu said. “I think the decision was taken at the right time because we all know that in Galle batting in the last hour is quite difficult. And I think it’s because of that decision that we were able to bowl them out the following morning.”
The 27-year-old offspinner who was making his debut ended up with nine wickets in a stellar first Test outing, and Dhananjaya revealed it was his particular skillset that bolstered the team following a hard-fought first Test.
“Nishan had bowled really well in domestic cricket for quite some time, and what I had stressed on was to bring in a bowler that could keep the economy rate low, especially on a turning track,” Dhananjaya said. “That’s how you put pressure on the opposition, with Prabath [Jayasuriya] at the other end. And I think he did his job excellently in this game.”
With six Test wins this year, Sri Lanka have moved up to fifth in the Test rankings. For Dhananjaya, this has been reward for the work the side has put in, and the bench strength they’ve developed.
“I have been part of the side for six years and we’ve always wanted to come up in rankings but we tried and failed,” he said. “We just couldn’t get the right team makeup, but we have got it right now. And now we also have combinations that can work on any surface, both at home and overseas.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo