Jayasuriya: It was a good team effort

Rex Clementine

August 15, 2001

After Sri Lanka ended the second day in the first Test of the three Test series at the Galle International Stadium well on top, Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya declared it as a total team effort by his side. "It was a good overall team effort. I am happy that we managed to bowl them out for less than 200. It was crucial to get them out before too long," said Jayasuriya.

"After getting the cream of the Indian batting out yesterday, we wanted to just to finish them off under 200 and the bowlers did just that," remarked the Sri Lankan captain.

Dilhara Fernando made life difficult for the Indian batsmen by finishing with a five-wicket haul. Jayasuriya's side in the recent past has depended on Muralitharan a lot in the bowling department, but today Fernando rose to the occasion,

"It was a grassy wicket and conditions were ideal for a bowler like Dilhara. So he made use of the conditions and things went on really well for us," said Jayasuriya.

After the wonderful display in the field, the Sri Lankans had to bat well to end the day on top. Their batsmen did just that and Sri Lanka ended gaining considerable advantage, "After the good performance with the ball it was the responsibility of the batsmen to do well and I thought all of us batted well."

Jayasuriya himself ended the day with a century and, analyzing the Indian bowling, he said, "Srinath bowled well in his first spell. We knew we had to see him off in his initial burst and then when I was in the middle I got a lot of width from both sides of the wicket and I thought of making the most of the opportunities."

Harbhajan Singh picked up the first Sri Lankan wicket but failed to put the brakes on the Sri Lankan batsmen despite bowling a marathon spell of 27 overs. "He's a good bowler. You can't underestimate him. He's the type of bowler who can really turn the ball. More than him making any mistakes, I thought we handled him well," remarked Jayasuriya.

Though Sri Lanka ended the day in a good position, Sri Lankan coach, Dav Whatmore cautioned his players. "You haven't won a Test Match until you have really won it. What we are trying to do is to get a good advantage and then try and extend that advantage. It's a very tricky pitch and batting last on this track will be very difficult, so there's a lot to play for tomorrow."

© Cricinfo

	Email

Watch our daily Cricinfo SportsCenter news round-ups Available on Cricinfo.tv     Live scores, results, news, features and more - a click away Download the Cricinfo Toolbar     Live scores, news & ball-by-ball commentary on your phone Cricinfo Mobile

Series/Tournaments

India tour of Sri Lanka

Teams

India

Sri Lanka