Sonal Dinusha: Sri Lanka batter Sonal Dinusha expressed immense satisfaction after his marathon batting efforts across the series, including hitting an unbeaten 133, helped the hosts secure a hard-fought draw in the second and final Test against India at the SSC Ground on Thursday.
Dinusha, who was named the Player of the Match for his heroic knock in the second innings that saved the game for the hosts after Sri Lanka were forced to follow on, credited his preparation on turning tracks and lauded the lower order for standing firm alongside him to keep India at bay.
"First of all, I should mention who helped me get here. I want to mention our coaching staff and my school coach and provincial coach and family as well. It's really about the preparation at Galle, and here, I had an idea about the turning pitches, so I practised for that," Dinusha said after receiving his Player of the Match award to raucous applause from the Colombo crowd.
In all, Dinusha ended the series with 419 runs at 139.66 and became a gem of a find for Sri Lanka. “I would like to mention that the tailenders batted really well. It helped me get runs as well. I tried to do my best, reading the situation. I am really happy about that (getting three hundreds). When the team is down, I wanted to get runs for the team, so I am happy I was able to do that. Getting runs against India is a pleasure as a player," he added.
"First of all, I should mention who helped me get here. I want to mention our coaching staff and my school coach and provincial coach and family as well. It's really about the preparation at Galle, and here, I had an idea about the turning pitches, so I practised for that," Dinusha said after receiving his Player of the Match award to raucous applause from the Colombo crowd.
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However, de Silva also reflected on his own dismissal in the first innings, admitting it allowed India to assert dominance early in the match. “Maybe in the second innings I should have batted longer. That's the point where they got back in the match."