Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood said that Team India have a very strong bowling attack, as Islander are raring to take on India in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 2.
Chris Silverwood told the media: “If you look at that bowling attack and you watch them operate, it is a very strong bowling attack. I think any team in the world would want an attack like that, to be honest. But we see that as a great challenge for our guys.
We see it as an opportunity to go out and play against the best and see, I mean, pit ourselves against that. But there is no hiding it is a very good bowling attack.”
Silverwood hopes that the humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the Asia Cup 2023 final will motivate Sri Lanka team to challenge the hosts in the crucial CWC 2023 match in Mumbai.
The coach added, “I would rather hope that the defeat in the Asia Cup would give more motivation to the boys to come out and fight, show plenty of spirit, and get stuck into the Indian side. They are a very good side we know that we have seen them play some superb cricket this tournament so far. But I think it is a good opportunity for our boys to show what they are made of as well. Hopefully, the defeat in the Asia Cup will give motivation to the boys.”
Silverwood also feels the Islanders can draw inspiration from the final of the 2011 World Cup where they lost the final to India.
He added, “The boys are very aware of the history. Players do talk about history of their team as well and the results that they have had. We walked in and the first thing you do is go, ‘Wow, this is a great place to play cricket’. And when you stand out in the middle, you get that sort of goosebumps. So, for me, there’s plenty of things out there to motivate them to go perform in front of what will be a packed house tomorrow as well.”
Speaking on the struggling Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka, Silverwood said: “We know they have bags of experience in their locker and we have seen both of them score runs at various points. It is like any game of cricket, not everybody will perform all the time, but what we do need is people to put their hands up, and at times it will be their time to do that as well.”
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But thankfully we do have a few people that are in form. I mean Kusal (Mendis) has played some super knocks here, and Sadeera (Samarawickrama) has been Mr Consistent, as has Pathum (Nissanka) at the top of the order as well.
I want them to be aggressive, to be honest. I want them to play their game and do things their way but have a positive mindset. It is a positive option when you take it and I am encouraging them to come out of their shell and push back and put pressure back on the bowlers. So, I think that is what Kusal Mendis is trying to do.”
Silverwood said Sri Lanka’s inability to take wickets in the middle overs is one of the main reasons behind the team’s poor show in the World Cup 2023.
He explained, “Obviously power down the bottom, so when we do get a good start it is making sure that we finish innings off strong and push on to big scores, and then taking wickets in the middle phase is something that we’re constantly working on.”
The coach signed off by saying, “It is not easy on good wickets but we have to find a way and we have to find a way of taking those wickets. Otherwise, you are allowing other people to get big scores, making our lives difficult.”
(With PTI Inputs)
