West Indies Coach wants his team to bat like Dhananjaya

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons said that he expected his team to show the same determination and bat like Dhananjaya de Silva on the fifth and final day of the second Test today.

De Silva scored a magnificent unbeaten 153* to give Sri Lanka a lead of 279 at the end of the fourth day yesterday, and whatever target West Indies are set, Simmons said it would be difficult chasing on the fifth and final day.

“98 overs and 300 runs to get is a little bit difficult; especially, on a wicket that is going to turn appreciably tomorrow,” said Simmons at the end of the fourth day. 

“We have to make sure that when we start, we should bat like he (De Silva) batted, with an attitude of ‘that I want to score all the time and bat all day’. That’s what you will be looking to do if you can’t win the game.”

Simmons heaped praise on de Silva’s classic knock and said that he took the game away from the West Indies.    “They batted really well and controlled the game. The wicket wasn’t dragging as much as we thought it would and he controlled it well with a superb hundred,” said Simmons. 

“He gave us one chance and he played us out of the game. We did all that we could do, we fought hard, the bowlers bowled well, and on the field, we were energetic all the time. It’s just that he batted well. If someone bats well on a wicket as good as this, then you have to hold up your hands to them.” Sri Lanka Captain Dimuth Karunaratne said that they would take a decision in the morning whether to put the heavy roller on and take advantage or declare at their overnight score because there was no great spin on the pitch other than outside the stumps.  

“It is difficult to face the spinners especially with the new ball because there is quick turn and less time for the batsmen to play a shot but as the ball gets softer it becomes easier for the batsman to score runs,” said Karunaratne.

“We must see how we can handle both, if we fail to get wickets with the new ball, how we manage and whether the total we have set is sufficient. We have 98 overs for the day and we have a chance of playing with two new balls. Like in previous matches there is no difficulty in playing on this surface. The wickets we lost were to run outs and loose shots but not many to good balls. That’s why we want to assess the situation tomorrow and then decide what to do.” – (ST)