AUS v SL 2019: Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal hopes to emulate Team India's feat in Australia

Sri Lanka will play two Tests in Australia later this month.

Chandimal urged youngsters to step up and perform well in Australia | Getty Images

Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal said his team would like to seek inspiration from neighbor Team India’s recent historic triumph Down Under in Australia and is hoping to do the same when they will take on Tim Paine and his team later this month in the two-match Test series down under.

While Australians are going through a tough phase at the moment, Sri Lanka are now eyeing to replicate India’s feat in the upcoming Test series, starting from January 24 at The Gabba.

Chandimal heaped praise on Virat Kohli and his team for their all-round show against Australia in the recently-concluded 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, saying the Lankans just need to strike a proper balance between bowling and batting to win matches on the Kangaroos’ soil like India did.

The Sri Lankans were heavily defeated in the first Test, but they bounced back and drew the second Test in New Zealand and Chandimal said his team is ready with their plans to play Australia in Australia.

Chandimal told media, “We have done well in New Zealand in both Tests, especially in the second innings. We just want to start well whether bowling or batting. We learnt from that last series and guys have some game plans. If they can take it out to the middle it will give us a good start.”

The skipper continued, “Our fast bowlers are in good shape and if we can get more than 300 that will be great from the batting unit. The India bowling unit was really good, especially between overs 40-80. That's why they won the series. As a team, we just want to do that as well.”

Meanwhile, he urged youngsters to step up and grab the opportunity with both hands and perform well in Australia as it will give them a lot of confidence going forward.

Chandimal signed off by saying, “This is a really good opportunity for the youngsters to show performance. If you perform against Australia in Australia that will give you more confidence going forward. We have something up our sleeve and if we can execute that we are on the right track.”

(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 18 Jan, 2019

    Share Via