Bowling was below par, says Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne, without saying in as many words, admitted that the Sri Lankan bowling was below par on a wicket that had something in it for the bowlers. 

“There was help in the wicket, you have to admit that,” the opener said at the end of day’s play which they finished at 50/2, a good 572 runs behind India’s total of 622/9 declared. “In Galle (first Test) though there wasn’t much in the wicket, it was the way Shikhar (Dhawan) batted that took the game away from us. We had to go to defensive fields. You can’t attack when two fours are being hit in an over. When you go to defensive fields, they are very smart, so they work the singles.

“Here we bowled well, but only in patches. We bowled a few short balls. I don’t think we will get short balls from the Indian team. Maybe once in five or six overs. We made a few little mistakes with the ball – the short balls especially. It became easy for them. When the runs are flowing, it’s difficult for a captain to set the field. He will have to spread it. (Cheteshwar) Pujara and (Ajinkya) Rahane then worked the singles. That’s the main reason they got over 600,” he elaborated.

The left-handed batsman also felt that Lankan bowlers were guilty of trying too many things.

“Maybe they are trying variations,” he pointed out. “Maybe they were a little less aggressive. In Test cricket all best batsmen play, and we have to bowl intelligently. We have to bowl on one side and set the field. It takes 10-15 overs to get a wicket. In the domestic level sometimes you can get five wickets from five overs. International cricket is very different, and we need to get used to that.”

Stat attack

• India’s total of 622 for nine declared is their sixth highest score away from home in Tests.
• In India’s innings, six fifty-plus innings’ were recorded –– a distinction registered by them for the seventh time. 
• India have posted six totals of 600 or more in Tests since December 2016. Except for Australia (one instance), no other team has achieved the said feat since the said period.
• Ravichandran Ashwin has taken only 51 Tests to complete the all-rounders’ unique double of 2,000 runs and 250 wickets in Tests –– the least number of matches taken by an all-rounder for this double, obliterating Richard Hadlee’s distinction of reaching the double in 54 Tests.