India vs Sri Lanka: Plan worked against Virat Kohli, says Nuwan Pradeep
Sri Lanka pace bowler Nuwan Pradeep picked up six wickets against India, including captain Virat Kohli.
After getting out to a short ball, Virat Kohli can expect a barrage of bouncers during the course of the series, especially early in the innings when his feet are not moving well. Though he did say as much, Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler so far in the Test, Nuwan Pradeep, said he was delighted that the plan for Kohli was working out.
“For a batsman like him, we plan a lot. It was one of our plans that worked against him, and I’m really happy about that,” said Pradeep, who claimed a six-wicket haul in the first innings.
READ | Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin rattle Sri Lanka in Galle Test
“He’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m very happy to have got him out like that,” the bowler said.
Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Chaminda Vaas said they worked on the short ball plan after seeing that the wicket was good for batting. “We had a few plans as well, but we saw that the wicket is really good for batting. We thought of surprising the India batsmen by bowling a few bouncers,” said Vaas.
READ | Nuwan Pradeep lone bright spot for Sri Lanka in Galle cricket Test vs India
It was Pradeep’s first five-wicket haul, and he said after picking up four wickets he worked on specifics which proved fruitful.
“I’ve taken four wickets seven or eight times. This is my first five-wicket haul and I’m very happy that I could get it. I didn’t do much different – just a little change.
READ | Jayananda Warnaweera, once Galle cricket stadium’s caretaker, living in oblivion
“Because I took four wickets a lot of times and missed out on the fifth, today (Thursday) was the day I worked out how to get a five-wicket haul, and I did that.”
Catch all the Latest Cricket News, Live Cricket Score and IPL 2024 Schedule, match updates along with Cricket Schedule, WPL Final 2024, WPL Final 2024 and other related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs