Azad Majumder
Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene praised Bangladesh for their brave fight in the first Test and said he wasn’t surprised at all the way the hosts batted to score 413 runs in the fourth innings. Here are the excerpts from Jayawardene’s post-match press conference.
Did he get scared at any stage?
No, I never thought of losing the match.
On Bangladesh performance
It’s not unusual at all. You know in the last couple of Test matches they were very close to winning against New Zealand and probably one against South Africa as well. So we knew they are capable of doing so. The way they played, I mean they batted very well, credit should go to them. But only good thing was that we had 521 runs behind us and we knew we have to be patient, bowl in good areas and create opportunities. It’s a big effort from our bowlers on a very slow wicket towards the end. So it was a good Test match.
On the Bangladesh team that toured Sri Lanka last year
You can’t compare because we played them almost two years ago. Those were in different wickets and bowlers. As a group they improved. But I can’t compare two separate series which happened two years apart.
Was it wrong to set a big target of 521 for Bangladesh who got out for 178 in the first innings?
Obviously anyone can think it was wrong and too much but we knew that the wicket hasn’t changed much and the ball was coming onto the bat nicely. So the more we batted on that wicket we realised it was going to be tough for us to get Bangladesh out. They competed really well scoring over 400 runs. We knew that we won’t be able to get them out for 150 or 200 on a wicket like this which was really good. We knew we needed something to play with and we had enough time in hand as well. So we just continued to bat to make sure we get into a very comfortable position. Simply if you try to get the batsmen out, you need to attack. To attack, you need to have runs under your belt. That’s what we went with. We got five sessions to get them out. They batted very well, especially the middle-order and the lower-middle order. (Mohammad) Ashraful, Sakib (al Hasan) and (Mushfiqur Rahim) at the end batted very well and all credit to them.
On Ashraful’s century
Yeah, he batted very well and he played straight and he wasn’t playing too many shots up front, waited for the loose balls. I think with Ashraful we also made a few mistakes by bowling quite a few loose balls to him when he came to bat and gave him a good start. But after that he batted really well, took the responsibility and batted for long. We knew he would be the danger man for us because as long he was there the runs were flowing in. And we had to get his wicket. Good breakthrough for us from Vaas with the second new ball.
Expectation from Muralitharan
Murali bowled really well. But sometimes you know even some of the good balls he was bowling, he wasn’t getting wickets and that’s how the game goes. But he never gave up, overall 10 wickets in a match. So what more can I ask from him (smiles). If you get a bowler who is getting 5 wickets and 10 wickets every time he plays. I am quite happy with Murali’s efforts.
On inclusion of Ajantha Mendis for Chittagong Test
It really doesn’t matter who we bring in. We have to play proper cricket. You can have the averages of over 50 but on the day you have to go out and perform. You can have the guy who is taking wickets but if you don’t go out wickets won’t come to you. So it’s a new Test match for us. We will take the next few days off and will take rest and get back for our preparation, see the wicket in Chittagong and assess it. Hope it will be another good Test match for us. You know we are not overconfident and overcautious about it. It’s another Test match and we are just approaching it that way.
On his 100th Test match in Chittagong and 8,000 runs
I am very proud of playing for my country. It’s as simple as that. I never imagined playing 100 Test matches, obviously the opportunity is there. I am very proud to have done that and there is no pressure for me. It’s all about challenging myself to be a better cricketer. That’s how I am going to take approach in the next game. Whether I get runs or not, that doesn’t matter.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
