Sonal Dinusha made 100, 84, 103 and 133* in four innings against India in recent Test series.
Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten has lavished rich praise on newbie batter Sonal Dinusha after his amazing performance with the bat helped Sri Lanka draw the recent Colombo Test against India on August 27, 2026.
Dinusha had an amazing time against India in the recent Test series, hitting scores of 100 and 84 in the first Test in Galle. He then hit 103 in the first innings for Sri Lanka in the Colombo Test and then made an unbeaten 133 off 264 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes to earn a draw after his team was asked to follow on.
India had made 503/9d with Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel scoring centuries. Sri Lanka managed 290 in the first innings, but India captain Shubman Gill decided to enforce the follow-on. Pasindu Sooriyabandara followed his first innings' 84 with 92 in the second innings, while Dinusha showed great restraint and game awareness to ensure Sri Lanka finished at 429/9d.
Gary Kirsten heaped laurels on Dinusha, saying the young batter thrives in "tough situations" and it is a treat to watch him playing Test cricket.
"I think it's never easy batting at six in a team because often you come in under pressure. I saw that he really thrives in tough situations. The first time I watched him bat properly was in the first innings in the West Indies.
He came in at seven, and we were 110 for five, and he put on a 100 with the captain (Dhananjaya de Silva). I thought, jeez, this guy can play. I love the way he plays Test cricket. He thinks about it. He plays to his strengths, and he is a smart cricketer," Kirsten said in the post-match press conference.
However, Kirsten said Sri Lanka needs to learn the art of winning Test matches.
"I think not winning Test matches is a concern. We need to work out ways that we can get ourselves 20 wickets. So that's certainly a work in progress. But I was really impressed with some of the young batters that are new to the Test team, who have shown their mettle in Test match cricket—particularly Sonal Dinusha.
Then there is Pasindu Sooriyabandara, who is basically on debut. It was nice to see them take the opportunity under pressure and make a performance. So that's a real positive," he said.
The young Indian batters Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal, who was subsequently named player of the series, impressed Kirsten, who had previously coached India.
"I think Devdutt has taken his chance. I think he played great Test match cricket. The danger with players who play across all the formats is that they bring the white-ball version of cricket to the red-ball game. Gautam and I are both Test match purists. So we often talk about it, and we want players who can play Test match innings. I thought Dev did that brilliantly in both Test matches, especially that innings in Galle; he didn't take too much risk," Kirsten said.
"The other guy that I was very impressed with was Jurel. I think he's a world-class player. He plays the short ball really well. Great technique, and he just looks like he wants to score big runs at the Test level. So, those two definitely stood out for me," he added.
(PTI inputs)