Chandimal looking to end final tour to SA on a high

Dinesh Chandimal

• 54 runs shy of becoming 7th Sri Lankan batter to reach 6000 Test runs

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

In what could be his final tour to South Africa, Sri Lanka’s newly promoted number three batsman Dinesh Chandimal is looking to finish on a high.

It was in South Africa that Chandimal as a 22-year-old made his Test debut in 2011 batting at number 7 and keeping wickets. The Test was memorable for more reasons than one. Chandimal made twin fifties and Sri Lanka recorded their first Test win in South Africa, winning by 208 runs at Durban.

Since then Chandimal has batted from number 2 to number 8 for his country scoring the majority of his runs while batting at 5 where he averages 50 and scored 7 of his 16 Test hundreds. He was moved to his present position at number 3 to make way for rising star Kamindu Mendis who now occupies the number 5 spot.

Rolling back the years Chandimal said, “I made my debut in South Africa in the first Test in 2011. I remember very well we won that Test which was our first ever win in South Africa. It was memorable because I was able to score twin fifties in that match. This (present tour) could be my last tour to South Africa. There is one more Test to go and I am looking forward to performing well.”

It was Chandimal’s audacious knock of 83 compiled off 174 balls in just under five hours in the second innings of the first Test at Durban that saw Sri Lanka regain some pride after being shot out for their lowest total in Test history – 42.

Sri Lanka set a mammoth target of 516, replied with 282 which would have given them a lot of confidence for Thursday’s second Test at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth).  

“As a batting group we made mistakes as batsmen and we take full responsibility for it,” said Chandimal on the first innings debacle. “We couldn’t believe that we had got out for 42. It came as a shock to the entire team because we are a team that had performed exceptionally well over the years. But these things can happen. What we have to do is learn from this failure and going forward, see how we can score 300 plus in the first innings. Everyone can make mistakes but trying to rectify it is what we must do as cricketers. We have quality batsmen in the side and I am sure they will give a good account of themselves in the next Test.”

Drawing a parallel to their last tour which was to England in August-September, Chandimal said, “In England because we were in the game in the first two Tests we were able to win the third match. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a single warm-up game here. This (the first Test) was our first appearance playing on the centre wicket. That could also be a reason for our collapse. I am not giving any excuses but these things can happen as a result.”

“As a team we are mentally in good shape. The coach and manager are always giving us their fullest backing. Even when we were dismissed for 42 in the first innings they spoke with a lot of trust. It is a big plus point for us to get close to 300 in the fourth innings. We know that scoring 300 plus in the fourth innings in South Africa is not easy. Taking that into our confidence we are hoping to give a better account of ourselves at Port Elizabeth.”

A veteran of 85 Test matches, 35-year-old Chandimal is 54 runs shy of reaching 6,000 runs in the red ball format. Only six Sri Lankan players have reached that mark before him – Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya (who is the present Head Coach), Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne.

It would be quite appropriate if Chandimal can reach this landmark in the second Test, which in all probability would be his last on South African soil.