"Our spinners didn't bowl that well in Bangladesh" - Dimuth Karunaratne backs Sri Lankan spinners to do well against Australia
Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne has thrown his weight behind the young spinners ahead of the Test series against Australia. Karunaratne feels that despite a disappointing performance in Bangladesh, they have what it takes to repeat Rangana Herath's heroics from the 2016 series.
Herath was the star of Sri Lanka's 3-0 win against Australia in the 2016 leg. The left-arm spinner bagged 28 wickets in three Tests at 12.75, helping the hosts achieve their first series sweep over Australia in Test cricket.
Speaking ahead of the first Test, starting on Tuesday, Karunaratne stated that despite not having much success in Bangladesh, the Sri Lankan spinners will do well against Australia. He observed that there is a marked improvement in the spinners' showing in the nets.
The veteran stated, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"Our spinners didn't bowl that well in Bangladesh, but we looked ahead and looked at which series were coming up and prepared for them. Piyal Wijetunge, our spin-bowling coach, has been working hard with the spinners. Even playing them in the nets, I can see an improvement. I think they'll do the job we'll need them to do in the match."
Sri Lanka have the likes of Lasith Embuldeniya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffery Vandersay, and Praveen Jayawickrama at their disposal. The home side will also have the services of Dhananjaya de Silva, who can bowl some tidy off-spin.
"Australia have improved a lot" - Dimuth Karunaratne
Karunaratne also opined that Australia's series victory in Pakistan is evidence of how much the Aussies have improved when it comes to playing the spinners. The southpaw feels that despite having inexperienced spinners in their ranks, they know how to operate on these wickets.
Karunaratne stated:
"Australia have improved a lot. They showed that in the series against Pakistan. In 2016, we had Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera. We had experienced spinners. We've now got three pretty new spinners in the team. But we know what this pitch will do and how we need to bowl on it. If we do those basics well, we'll be able to win."
He continued:
"There are things we learned in the last series, and a lot of the same players are playing this one as well. I think some of those plans will work out here. What Rangana did in that series is keep bowling in good areas and make trouble for the batters. If our spinners do that, we'll be able to ask a lot of questions."
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There is plenty to play for both teams with World Test Championship points at stake. Australia are at the top of the table, while Sri Lanka are fourth.