IND vs SL 2022: Dimuth Karunaratne wants Sri Lanka to reverse the pressure in second Test
Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne hopes for his team to play risk-free cricket in the second Test against India in Bengaluru. The visitors are trailing 1-0 in the series after a heavy defeat in the first Test.
Karunaratne believes his team could not impose their free-flowing style of play because India had the luxury of a mammoth first-innings total. The hosts scored 574-8 on the back of an unbeaten 175 from Ravindra Jadeja.
Sri Lanka found themselves a spinner short and were also hurt by Lahiru Kumara's injury midway through Day 2.
WATCH: 2nd Test Preview by Dimuth Karunaratne | Sri Lanka tour of India 2022 - youtu.be/r0wv0BwttcI #INDvSL
Speaking ahead of the second Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karunaratne said:
"In the first match, we saw lots of turn from Ravindra Jadeja but didn't see a lot of turn from R Ashwin, or Jayant Yadav. Because they had a huge total in the first innings, they put a lot of catching fielders in and attacked us. They didn't use in-out fields. They wanted us to defend as much as possible. We wanted to try and spread the field by attacking."
Karunaratne added:
"This match will be quite different. If we can reverse a little pressure and get an in-out field, we can play some more risk-free cricket and rotate the singles. We tried that in the past game but because they were so far ahead in the game, it didn't work."
Sri Lanka are still in search of their first win on Indian soil in the longest format. The island nation have played 21 Tests in India and have recorded 12 losses, with 10 of them being innings defeats.
"We'll have to play two spinners" - Dimuth Karunaratne on Sri Lanka's team combination
The 33-year-old feels that the surface in Bengaluru will assist the spinners, eliminating the chances of India piling on runs like in Mohali if they bat first. As a result, the addition of left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama in the playing XI is likely.
The Sri Lanka skipper had earlier ruled Pathum Nissanka and Dushmanta Chameera out of contention due to injury and workload management, respectively. Pacer Suranga Lakmal, who will play the final match for Sri Lanka, is a certain inclusion in the playing XI for the second Test. Karunaratne said:
"We'll have to play two spinners. In Bangalore, you've got this black soil, and most likely it will turn a lot. It's very dry. They've cut most of the grass off. Although it's a pink-ball Test, we'll probably go with two frontline spinners and Dhananjaya de Silva."
Here's wishing Suranga Lakmal a very Happy Birthday! 🎂
What's your favourite Lakmal moment? https://t.co/vl46gtF4NR
The second Test between India and Sri Lanka will begin tomorrow (March 12) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. It will be the third day-night Test to take place in India. This also marks Team India's final contest before the commencement of IPL 2022.