We want to be ranked among the top four Test teams: Karunaratne

January 30, 2018 Leonard Ratnayake CRICKET, NATIONAL 0

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne is confident that 2018 will bring the best out of the Sri Lankan side in Test cricket. Sri Lanka had a tough 2017 where they were whitewashed 3-0 in South Africa and then played back-to-back series against world’s top-ranked India. While they suffered a 3-0 clean sweep in the home series, the return leg was much better as they were able to draw the Kolkata and Delhi Tests.

Sri Lanka’s Test specialists left for Bangladesh on Saturday (January 27) ahead of the two-match series starting later this month and Karunaratne was confident of turning things around and perhaps a spot among the top four Test playing nations at the completion of 2018.

“It was very satisfying to draw the Delhi Test match last month. There were some good efforts by new guys like Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva. There is also young Kusal Mendis, who has returned to the side and he is very exciting. As the senior group, we know that even if we had a bad game, there are new players who are able to take up responsibility. That allows us to play our shots with more freedom. That will do a lot of good for the team’s confidence,” Karunaratne told Cricbuzz in an interview.

“Last year was a tough one for us with a tour to South Africa. Then we played India in back-to-back series. At the start, things didn’t go too well for us, but I thought we finished off well with the highlight being the series win over Pakistan. They had been unbeaten in UAE for seven years,” he added.

Karunaratne was in good nick against Pakistan as he made a career-best 196 in the second Test in Dubai and was named Player of the Series. He also had an excellent 2017 finishing the year with over 1,000 runs in Test cricket, the first time a Sri Lankan had achieved the milestone since Sangakkara retired. Only six players were able to score more than 1000 runs in 2017 and that included Indian captain Virat Kohli, Australian skipper Steve Smith and Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal.

“Since the Sanga-Mahela era, we were rebuilding and things are falling in line now. The good thing about playing with the likes of Sangakkara and Jayawardene was that the team was set. You don’t have to worry about anything. You had to just go out there and play. They will take up all the pressure. When they left, we had to take that responsibility and we were found wanting. But we learned with experience and things are settled now. Last year, we gelled well as a team. The good thing is that we have progressed with the same set of players who were identified. There is a stable captain and now we can look forward for consistency in the team’s performances.”

Of the three formats, Sri Lanka’s best ranking is in Tests, where they are ranked sixth. “Last year, we had some tough tours. This year, after Bangladesh, we have a series away from home in West Indies and then we host England and South Africa. I am pretty certain we can do well in home conditions. If we can beat South Africa and England at home, we will improve our ranking. The difference between us and the fourth-ranked team is some six points. We have our plans and we are confident of doing well.”

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