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Dew made it easy to bat in second innings: Shanaka
Follow UsDasun Shanaka revealed that batting was easier in the second innings
Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and immediately opted to bat first. It looked like a surface that would slow down in the second innings. And, Australia’s total of 292, on the back of multiple contributions from Finch, Travis Head, Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell, looked like a winning total.
However, it all changed during the second innings, with the pitch becoming better to bat on, as the hosts capitalised on that factor. Sri Lankan opener, Pathum Nissanka, who already has left an indelible mark on the series continued to make an impact, scoring 137 off 147 balls. Nissanka stitched a brilliant partnership with Kusal Mendis (87) to put Sri Lanka in driver’s seat.
Both skippers in the post-match presentation opined that the pitch became easier to bat in the second innings. Sri Lankan skipper, Dasun Shanaka revealed that the dew made the run-chase look easy for the hosts.
"I knew that it was a record chasing this down. It was a very good performance by the two youngsters with the bat, Pathum and Kusal Mendis. I hope they will take the momentum into the next match as well. In the dressing room we were talking about the tempo and awareness, and they delivered.
I think there was a little bit of dew, and it made a difference when we were batting. The ball was coming nicely on to the bat. We didn't expect that at the toss, so batting second made a huge difference to the game,” Shanaka said at the presentation.
Australian skipper, Finch credited the Sri Lankan opener, Nissanka, stating that it was quite clinical from the right-hander while admitting that the wicket got better to bat in the second innings.
"There's quite a bit of dew out here at the moment. The wicket seemed to get a little bit better [in the second innings] it wasn't stopping as much in the surface. But credit to Sri Lanka, that was a great run chase. It was quite clinical from, particularly Nissanka. That was a very classy innings, and we know the quality of the player he is. You could look back at a lot of decisions and wonder what was the right one," Finch said at the post-match presentation.