Dinusha made twin hundreds at the Sinhalese Sports Club, helping Sri Lanka draw the second Test against India. I saw that he really thrives in tough situations. Because often you come in under pressure, “I think it’s never easy batting at six in a team.
Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten on Thursday heaped praise on Sonal Dinusha, saying the young batter thrives in “tough situations” and it is a treat to watch him playing Test cricket. The first time I watched him bat properly was in the first innings in the West Indies,” Kirsten said in the post-match press conference.
Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten on Thursday heaped praise on Sonal Dinusha, saying the young batter thrives in “tough situations” and it is a treat to watch him playing Test cricket.
I thought, jeez, this guy can play. I love the way he plays Test cricket. He thinks about it. He plays to his strengths and he is a smart cricketer,” he added. “I think not winning Test matches is a concern. But I was really impressed with some of the young batters that are new to the Test team, who have shown their mettle in Test match cricket – particularly Sonal Dinusha. “Then there is Pasindu Sooriyabandra, who is basically on debut. It was nice to see them take the opportunity under pressure and make a performance. Kirsten, who had coached India in the past, was impressed by the young Indian batters Devdutt Padikkal, who was later adjudged player of the series, and Dhruv Jurel. “I think Devdutt has taken his chance. I think he played great Test match cricket. The danger with players who play across all the formats is that they bring the white ball version of cricket to the red ball game. “The other guy that I was very impressed with was Jurel. I think he’s a world-class player. He plays the short ball really well. Great technique and he just looks like he wants to score big runs at Test level. So, those two definitely stood out for me,” he added.
So that’s certainly a work in progress. So that’s a real positive,” he said. “He came in at seven and we were 110 for five and he put on a 100 with the captain (Dhananjaya de Silva). We need to work out ways that we can get ourselves 20 wickets.
However, Kirsten said Sri Lanka need to learn the art of winning Test matches.
