Sri Lanka’s miseries have compounded after their loss against India in the first Test in Galle. Coach Gary Kirsten ‘s update on injured Sri Lankan players did not offer an upbeat scenario for the hosts ahead of the second Test. Sri Lanka will miss Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis . “Kusal Mendis has got a proper hamstring injury. He’s not going to be available for a while. Pathum Nissanka as well as Dinesh (Chandimal) are also not available for the next Test. So, we’re missing a few guys from that perspective, but it creates a great opportunity for young players to come in and stake their claim. In fact, players who have got really good first-class records in this country.
So it’s a good opportunity for them,” he said.
“We still believed even this (Wednesday) morning that we could make something happen, either win the Test match or certainly draw it. So, I was really pleased with the energy and the attitude of the team around that.
“So it’s great to get into the Test-match game a little bit and then understand how to score runs, bat for long periods of time, and have an influence on a game over a long period of time,” he said.
There was a bit of fight, and we were keen to try and stay in the Test match. Kirsten was happy to see the fight Sri Lanka showed despite being reduced to 99 for five in the early part of their first innings and then dragging the match into the fifth and final day. “From being 99 for 5 at the beginning of the third day to then taking the Test match into the afternoon of the fifth day was particularly pleasing.
“I’m particularly excited by being involved with Sri Lankan cricket. I think there are some great players here, but the team still needs to develop. “This is now our third Test match in the space of a couple of months, and I can already see the team developing, and we’re starting to build some shape into the team. “But we need to be able to turn it into a performance at some point.
It is sometimes tough when you don’t play Test cricket to understand how you need to play it,” Kirsten said in the post-match press conference. But as I said, we’re kind of building that and developing that as best we can,” he added.
