Bowlers have bounced back: Sangakkara

“They were a bit tired after the last day,” the Sri Lankan skipper conceded, “but we have trained well since. We are one of the hardest training sides in world cricket. The guys have been doing their recovery work by going to gym and getting back into being up there physically and mentally.”

Sangakkara said beyond the obvious, he hadn’t too much idea of how the Green Park surface would behave. “There is a bit more grass on it than Ahmedabad, but quite dry underneath. Until we play on it, we would really not know how it will behave. You’ve got to have the attitude to keep trying. If it doesn’t work, can’t help it, but you’ve got to keep trying.

“Our basic preparations are very much the same. Mainly we’ve got to challenge ourselves and do what the situation requires us to do. It’s important to have a fresh attitude and start all over again.”

Asked if the Lankans weren’t over-dependent on spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, he replied, “When you have a legend in your side, you have to depend on him, there’s no two ways about it. We have done so for years. We have done that with Sanath in ODI cricket and with Chaminda Vaas in both formats. That’s the nature of being a leading player. There are people looking up to you, but the good thing is it’s a good challenge for other guys. I don’t think Murali is struggling, we’ll see how he goes in this Test and from thereon. I am a very strong believer that Murali is a match-winner all the time.
“Every player is in the side because he’s good enough to play Test cricket. If one bowler is not firing, we have four other bowlers to do a job.”