Sri Lanka batters need to do a Joe Root – skipper Dhananjaya

Dhananjaya de Silva’s team faces a rare 3-0 series whitewash in England

Sri Lanka’s most successful batsman Kamindu Mendis will continue to bat at 7    

• Kusal Mendis, Vishwa return for third Test

THE OVAL: Sri Lanka’s hopes of avoiding a 3-0 whitewash of the three-Test series against England will largely depend on the amount of runs they put on the board especially in the first innings and on the English weather which is not all that great for the match.

Going into the third and final Test starting Friday at the Oval, Sri Lanka Captain Dhananjaya de Silva said, “We need to score big runs and that’s the biggest fault we had in the first two Tests. Most of our batters who got starts didn’t convert them. Joe Root is a good example. He converted the starts into hundreds. Others batted around him. One of us needs to do that. If that happens, we need to get to the 320-run mark in the first innings. That’s what we have been unable to do.”

De Silva said that whatever plans Sri Lanka had devised for him, Root adapted to it quickly.

“You cannot say that our plans didn’t work out, but he is quick to judge what we are doing and adjusts. We are now planning more things. In Manchester he got out early. Let’s see how it goes.”

When questioned why the Lankan batsmen are struggling with England’s fast bowlers, De Silva replied, “They have a lot of experience, and they control their lines and lengths. Loose balls are few and rare. We need to prepare and plan for that. They did not allow us to execute our plans, that’s why they were successful.”

With England giving 20-year-old 6ft, 7 ins tall fast bowler Josh Hull a Test debut, Sri Lanka will have to counter his extra pace and bounce along with the other bowlers who having been troubling them. At least they had faced Hull in the 4-day warm-up game at Worcester and have an idea of what he is capable of.

“He was quite impressive. He bowled quick and swings the ball both ways. He is a good find for the England team,” said De Silva. “We played him in the warm-up game. We have a few plans for him. You asked me about Dan Lawrence in the first Test. He had a tough time. Maybe if we can put Josh under pressure too it will be good.”

In a surprise move, Sri Lanka has recalled Kusal Mendis and Vishwa Fernando – two players they dropped for the second Test because of their failure. Mendis made 24 and 0 and Vishwa returned figures of 2/73 in the first innings and 0/46 off 8 overs in the second. They replaced Nishan Madushka and left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya.

Pathum Nissanka will once again join forces with Dimuth Karunaratne as opener after a lapse of two years with Mendis batting at number three. Vishwa will form a four-man seam attack with Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Milan Rathnayake with De Silva having recovered from a shoulder injury taking up the spin option. 

“If there is left-arm variety, that’s great. It will be handy for the attack. Vishwa had some experience here. He wasn’t at his best in the first game, but he is getting another chance,” said De Silva.

Whether Sri Lanka’s most successful batsman in the series, Kamindu Mendis will get a promotion in the batting order from number 7, De Silva said, “Let him score runs at seven. We should not upset his momentum. We will see whether we can do changes in the future moving forward. We have to ask him how he feels. It would be a tough call for him to ask him to bat early. If he gets out early the blame will come on me. He is doing well at number seven. For now, let him play at number seven.”

Batting at 7, Kamindu Mendis has contributed scores of 12, 113 and 74 and 4 batting at 8.

“It is disappointing when you lose. We need to do simple things right. Put the balls in the right areas and play the patient game when you are batting,” said De Silva.

Sri Lanka has not lost a three-Test series in England 3-0 before, but Dhananjaya de Silva’s team are facing a rare whitewash at the Oval unless they can uplift themselves at the Oval.