Joe Root made 228, 1, 186 and 11 in the two Tests against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal has on Monday (January 25) admitted that the hosts were “outplayed” by England in their 0-2 Test series whitewash and stressed that the Islanders need to bat like touring skipper Joe Root in the longest format of the game.
On Monday, Sri Lanka was whitewashed by England in a two-match Test series due to their dismal batting performance in both games at The Galle and Chandimal has pointed out it was Root’s batting quality that made the big difference in the recent Test series.
Root was outstanding with the bat in the Test series and was also named Man of the Series after scoring 426 runs in two Tests, including scores of 228 and 186 in two Tests, to help England register a record Test series clean-sweep in the Island nation.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Chandimal said: “We were outplayed today. We did all the hard work over the last three days, but as a batting unit, we made the same mistakes we made in the first Test on the first day. No excuses, we need to learn to bat like Root, he was outstanding.
We need to be patient with the bat that's the key when it comes to batting. We did well in patches but it's not good enough, especially against a good team like England, so we have to do well every day.”
The stand-in skipper further said he “didn't understand the collapse” of the Lankan side but admitted no one from his team took responsibility during the home Tests against England
He further added, “Credit to England, they did tremendously well. I played a rash shot, so I take the responsibility. But nobody in our lineup took responsibility. If our batting unit takes responsibility and we get 250-plus that will be a good total on this pitch. As a unit, we have to step up, and going forward we need to learn how to bat with patience. But the guys will learn moving forward.”
Chandimal also lauded Lasith Embuldeniya, who impressed all with his spin bowling, as he scalped 10 wickets in the second Test and finished the two-Test series with 15 scalps against England.
He signed off by saying, “Embuldeniya was outstanding throughout the series. He is doing all the hard work at practice and he always asks how he could improve with the bat and the ball. He is going to be an asset for us going forward. I am really disappointed with the way I batted. I have to learn from my mistakes and I will come back strong.”
(With ANI Inputs)