Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne On Playing In England: Conditions Are Tough For Batters

Ahead of his team’s  third Test match against the Three Lions, Sri Lanka batter Dimuth Karunaratne said that the conditions in England are tough for the batters.

After playing the first two matches of the Test match series, Karunaratne scored 91 runs at a strike rate of 44.39.
Currently, Sri Lanka are down 2-0 in the Test series after losing the opening two matches. In the first game, Sri Lanka conceded a five-wicket defeat against England. While, in the second match, Sri Lanka lost by 190 runs to England.
Sri Lanka opener Karunaratne said that even the English openers struggled on such conditions.

“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,” Karunaratne was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

He added that Sri Lanka tried to do few tricks to stop Joe Root but all were unsuccessful. The 36-year-old added that Root’s stupendous performance in the second Test was the turning point.

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“We’ve tried a few things against Joe but they were always unsuccessful. I think the turning points in the matches have been those Joe Root innings. Even when we’ve played at Galle, he’s hit big runs, but the batters around him haven’t scored as heavily. We really need to minimise the runs he’s scoring,” he added.

Recapping the second Test match between England and Sri Lanka, the visitors won the toss and opted to field first. England scored 427 runs in the first innings, with Root (143 in 206 balls, with 18 fours) and Gus Atkinson (118 in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes) slamming centuries to take England to a massive score.

Asitha Fernando (5/102) was the top bowler for Sri Lanka. Milan Rathnayake and Lahiru Kumara took two wickets each.
In their first innings, despite Kamindu Mendis’s fighting 74 runs in 120 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, Sri Lanka could manage just 196 runs as the top-order let the team down again. Chris Woakes, Olly Stones, Gus Atkinson, and Matthew Potts got two wickets each, while Shoaib Bashir got one. England led by 231 runs.

Sri Lanka showcased much better control with the ball in England’s second innings, bundling them out for 251 runs. After Root’s 103 in 121 balls, with 10 fours, the second biggest contribution was delivered by Harry Brook (37 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and a six).

Asitha Fernando (3/52) and Lahiru Kumara (3/53) were the top wicket-takers for Sri Lanka.
In the run-chase of 483, Sri Lanka put up a fight as three half-centuries came from Dimuth Karunaratne (55 in 129 balls, with seven fours), Dinesh Chandimal (58 in 62 balls, with 11 fours) and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (50 in 71 balls, with seven fours). But despite that, Lanka was bundled out for 292 runs and lost by 190 runs.

Atkinson (5/62) was the pick of the bowlers for England, picking his third five-wicket haul at the Lord’s. Olly Stone and Chris Woakes also got two wickets.

Atkinson secured the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his all-round performance.

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(With inputs from ANI)