Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur on Tuesday (April 20) said he is hoping the Islanders will end their long winless drought in Test cricket in the upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh starting Wednesday (April 21) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
Sri Lankans have not won a Test match in January 2020 despite having had chances in their last six Test matches, but they let the game slip away with some serious batting collapse, dropped catches, injuries, and poor use of the decision referral system to review umpiring calls.
They have suffered two losses in South Africa, two losses at home to England, and then two draws in the West Indies, however, Arthur has insisted that the Islanders are aware of their poor result but are hoping for a turnaround in the upcoming home series against Bangladesh starting Wednesday.
As reported by 7news.com.au, Arthur said on Tuesday: “We have spoken at length about taking that opportunity when it presents itself and applying pressure for a long period until the opposition inevitably breaks. If you take the West Indies series, we were in positions where we could have dominated but they managed to wriggle out of the situations.”
The pitch at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium has a nice grass cover on it and it is expected that the curators would shave it off before the first Test on Wednesday, and the hosts would certainly bank on their fast bowlers against Bangladesh.
Arthur signed off, “We will look to get pitches that do give our pacers some assistance for sure but I believe we have all bases covered and have the ability to have a balanced side with spin as well.”
Notably, Sri Lanka has won 16 of their 20 Test matches against Bangladesh and lost only one back in 2017 in Colombo, but the three of the last eight Test matches have ended in a draw.
