I wasn’t too pleased after getting the hundred: Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne had a bad series so far in England. The opener managed to score just 42 runs from his innings, averaging just above 10. With two Test matches done and dusted, England had won both of them quite convincingly, winning the first Test by an innings and 88 runs, whereas it was by 9-wickets in the second Test at Chester-le-Street.

The left-handed Sri Lankan opener is not happy with the kind of warm-up matches Sri Lanka had ahead of the series. Karunaratne in his four warm-up innings against Essex and Leicestershire has had scores of 8, 16*, 0 and 100.

Despite scoring a ton in the warm-up match, he was unsatisfied. He said that the matches were against the second-string teams and the 2nd warm-up match there were just two fast bowlers in the opposition. “I don’t think the century in that warm-up game was very satisfying,” Karunaratne told The Island. “I don’t think that kind of preparation will do any good ahead of a tough Test series. The oppositions we played were basically second-string teams. In our second warm-up game, there were just two fast bowlers and the rest were spinners. I wasn’t too pleased after getting the hundred.”

“During the practice game, of the two fast bowlers, the quickest guy bowled just four overs, Some of the Division Two bowlers didn’t ask many questions,” he added.

Also Read: England v Sri Lanka 2nd Test – 5 Talking Points

The 28-year old said that it’s so hard when you play these kinds of warm-up matches and suddenly adjust against the two World class bowlers like James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He pointed out that when England come to play in Sri Lanka, they are playing warm-up matches against their A teams.

“When we play that kind of opposition and all of a sudden play James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the Test match, the gap is huge. We tend to make more mistakes and get out cheaply. When England come to Sri Lanka, they play our A team as warm-up.”

Ahead of the third Test at Lords, he has got some valuable tips from the former Sri Lankan cricketers – Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sanath Jayasuriya. “Mahela Jayawardene had a chat with me and he gave me some options. Then Kumar Sangakkara called me and stressed the need to remain positive. His tips are useful as he has played here a lot. Sanath Jayasuriya too had a chat with me. Currently, I take guard on the middle stump. He suggested that I should maybe move between middle and off stump as that allows me to stop playing outside the body. He had done the same thing during his playing days. These are very useful tips.”

Sri Lanka will play the 3rd and final Test of the series at Lords from 9th June, where they will look to salvage some pride by winning and finishing the series 1-2.