Dhananjaya de Silva said that Sri Lanka batters need to up their game to challenge the strong England team in the third and final Test. The visitors have already conceded the series 0-2 after losing at the Old Trafford and Lord’s. De Silva said that his team’s batters need to draw inspiration from Joe Root and try and convert starts into big scores.
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Root is currently the leading run-scorer of the series with 350 runs to his name from four innings at an average of 116.66. For Sri Lanka, Kamindu Mendis has been the most impressive, having notched 203 runs at an average of 50.75. Dinesh Chandimal and the captain have scored two fifties apiece, but De Silva wasn’t happy with Sri Lanka’s overall batting.
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“Our batters have to score runs, and that’s the biggest issue we’ve had. Those who got starts didn’t turn them into hundreds and 150s. If you look at Joe Root on their side, he’s consistently made runs and it’s around him that others made runs. That’s what someone on our side needs to do as well, so we can get to 300 or 350. First-innings runs are what’s crucial to victory,” de Silva said before the last Test.
‘England didn’t let us execute our plans’
De Silva also mentioned that the English bowlers haven’t made life any easier for the Sri Lankan batters. He said that the hosts were bang on with their tactics and did not let Sri Lanka dictate terms.
“They (England) have a lot of control in addition to their experience. They have great control of line and length, and we don’t get many loose balls in England. We need to be prepared for that and our plans have to take that into account. That’s just what you get in England. In the two previous matches, they didn’t let us execute our plans. That’s why they were successful,” de Silva added.
The third Test is scheduled to take place from Friday, September 6 at the Kennington Oval in London.