"Sometimes boring batters out can also be a tactic" - Dimuth Karunaratne on stopping Joe Root in ENG vs SL 2024 3rd Test
Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne has acknowledged Joe Root's supremacy in the ongoing Test series in England. The left-handed batter feels the tourists must come up with a solid plan, suggesting that boring him out could be the way to go.
The former England skipper averages a healthy 67.55 against Sri Lanka in 12 Tests alongside 1351 runs with six centuries. As far as the ongoing series is concerned, Root has made scores of 42, 62*, 143, and 103, helping England take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the 3rd Test, Karunaratne remarked, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"We need to look at his past performances more closely, see where he's got out, and what kinds of things we can do on these pitches. We need to make a new plan based on that. Maybe sometimes we attack him too much and he takes advantage of that. Some players don't like it when we ask them to be less aggressive. Sometimes boring batters out can also be a tactic."
The Yorkshire batter was equally prolific when England toured the Island nation in early 2021. He hit scores of 228 and 186 in Galle as England beat Sri Lanka 2-0.
"Some people adapt very fast to conditions and some struggle" - Dimuth Karunaratne
The 36-year-old singled out Kamindu Mendis for adapting to the conditions well, but observed no batter apart from Joe Root has looked comfortable. He added (via ESPN Cricinfo):
"The juniors have been doing well, especially Kamindu Mendis. Some people adapt very fast to conditions and some struggle. That's the way the game is. Every game is quite tough. In England the conditions are tough for batters, and we saw that even their openers struggled, as well as their No. 3. Apart from Joe Root, the others also struggled despite this being home conditions for them. We're playing after a very long time here."
The third and final Test gets underway on September 6 at The Oval.