Dimuth Karunaratne feels Pakistan series will be more challenging than Australia.
Sri Lanka’s Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said that he was really happy for Dinesh Chandimal after he smashed a double century in the second and final Test against Australia to help the hosts level the home series.
As Chandimal played an unbeaten knock of 206 runs to help Sri Lanka beat Australia by an innings and 39 runs in the second Test at the Galle International Stadium, as the two teams shared the trophy, with the tourists winning the opening Test by 10 wickets last week in Galle.
Apart from Chandimal, the debutant spinner Prabath Jayasuriya also stole the show in Galle by snaring 12 wickets to help Sri Lanka bundle out Australia for 151 in the final session of day four.
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Dimuth Karunaratne said after the match: “I told Chandi to come up with a big knock. Last few years he was not very successful. When your senior player gives a knock like that, as captain it makes things easy for me. Angelo (Mathews) can fail, I can fail but I know that someone will fire for us. That's a good sign for the series that's ahead.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will host Pakistan in a two-match Test series beginning on July 16, and Chandimal believes Babar Azam and his team will pose a greater challenge to the hosts than Australia due to the Asian team's superior ability to deal with spin.
Karunaratne signed off by saying, “Pakistan is a strong side, a brilliant team. I think it will be more challenging than Australia. They play spin well.”
(With AFP Inputs)