Rex Clementine at Old Trafford
Former Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal says that his batting partner Kamindu Mendis is a world class cricketer. Sri Lanka were down and out of the first Test against England at Old Trafford after the top order had collapsed but Kamindu and Angelo Mathews helped to take the game to day four. Then, Chandimal joined Kamindu and gave the bowlers something to bowl at.
Chandimal was full of praise for young Kamindu Mendis, who posted his third Test hundred in his fourth Test.
“Kamindu is unbelievable. This is his first tour to England and getting a hundred in the first game is truly remarkable. He is world-class. It took me two tours to score a Test hundred in England. He has done it in his first Test,” Chandimal said.
“A positive mindset is his greatest asset. I spoke to him when we were having lunch. He said that he is in a very positive frame of mind.”
On day three, Chandimal had to retire after copping a nasty blow from a Mark Wood delivery on his thumb. He returned later in the day to help Sri Lanka wrestle back the initiative.
“This is the fourth time my thumb has been broken. I thought this time too it was gone. The doctor told me that it was the previous injury. I told the doctor that I wanted to bat and he gave me an injection. I told the manager too that I wanted to bat. Probably my last tour to England this one. So, I was desperate to play. Hopefully, I will be fit for Lord’s.
Sri Lanka ended up losing the game by five wickets but Chandimal said 50 more runs could have turned the game in his team’s favour. “Probably we were short 50 runs. We keep saying that. We need to learn and rectify. The tail didn’t contribute in the second innings. If they had done we could have got there. As a team we fought well. When you come to England it will take time to get used to conditions.”
“In the first innings if we had scored 300 runs it would have been great. We lost three wickets in the first half hour. Very difficult when that happens. But we recovered after that. Then again there were a few lapses. These things can happen. We played well as a team. In previous tours too we have struggled to compete in England in the first game. But this time it was different.”
Sri Lanka’s bowlers had done reasonably well with Asitha Fernando being the standout performer. The only disappointment was when they gave away too many runs on the third morning due to lack of penetration.
“Can’t blame the bowlers actually. They bowled two hours and 45 minutes back to back sessions the previous day. We have not done that in the last ten years. The weather was tough too. But they gave their best.”