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By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
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Pathum Nissanka
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Diminutive batsman Pathum Nissanka is likely to be handed his first Test cap when the two-Test series against West Indies commences at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday.
According to skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Nissanka’s temperament and his ability to bat for long periods is suited for the longer game. Nissanka was given the opportunity to play in the one-day matches where he made some decent scores batting in the top order.
“We don’t have Angelo Mathews but Dhananjaya de Silva’s arrival is a plus point for us. There are some youngsters in our squad as well and we are looking to give them a chance. Pathum (Nissanka) has a chance of playing and also Ashen Bandara. We will decide on our final combination after looking at the wicket tomorrow (Saturday),” said Karunaratne in a virtual media conference yesterday.
“We are looking to give a chance to Nissanka so it will be either Oshada Fernando or Roshen Silva who will play. Oshada played well in the practice match and he is most likely to get the nod. We need to have a strong batting line up to counter the West Indies pace bowlers,” he added.
Karunaratne said the toss will play a crucial role in the series because of the use of the Duke ball.
“With the Duke ball there is always late swing for the fast bowlers. We are playing with the Duke ball after a long time and we don’t have as much practice against it. We got an idea of how the West Indies fast bowlers will bowl with it during the two-day practice game. The wicket here is always helpful to the fast bowlers in the first two days of the test and the toss will play a crucial role,” said Karunaratne.
“We have experienced bowlers in Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando and I expect them to deliver. I think our bowlers can perform better in the Tests than what you saw in the ODIs where they struggled to get wickets because the wickets were flat. I don’t think we will see that kind of wickets in the Tests,” he said. “We need to put at least 275-300 on the board to be competitive a give our fast bowlers a chance.”
Karunaratne said that Lasith Embuldeniya would be the only spinner that Sri Lanka would go with for the Test match as the wickets will mostly suit the pace bowlers.
“Wanindu Hasaranga got injured during the ODIs and has returned home so we kept Lakshan Sandakan back for the Tests. I don’t think we will get an opportunity to play two spinners on these surfaces and if we need one there is always Dhananjaya de Silva with his off-breaks,” said Karunaratne.
