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NEW DELHI: Sanath Jayasuriya, the head coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team, provided an objective assessment of his team’s performance in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. Sri Lanka suffered a 109-run defeat in the second Test, resulting in a 2-0 series whitewash by the hosts.
Jayasuriya acknowledged that the Sri Lankan batters need to convert their starts into substantial scores, particularly hundreds, to be competitive in challenging conditions away from home.
“Batsmen have to convert their scores into hundreds – 30s and 40s aren’t enough. It’s tough on these wickets, but at least two batters have to score hundreds on a tour like this. We didn’t get that. All we got were two 80s,” said Jayasuriya, as quoted by ICC.
The head coach accepted that Sri Lanka missed an opportunity to secure a place in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s.
“I think the batters by now know the value of hundreds on the road, having played in a place like England recently as well. We missed that this time. Although there was a lot of effort from the senior batters, I think if they assess themselves individually, they will realise it wasn’t enough,” he added.
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Jayasuriya praised Kamindu Mendis, describing him as a key player for the team.
“Kamindu Mendis is a key player. In every Test match almost he was in the runs, aside from this series. If you saw the way he batted in this series, it was still with a lot of confidence. You can’t expect a batter to hit 50 or 100 every innings – that’s why you have six or seven batters,” he said.
Looking ahead, Sri Lanka will host Australia for two Test matches in January next year.
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